Beauty and the She-Beast
by StoryBookLover2016
Summary: A young gal named Dani is the most beautiful gal in her village of Genefieldburg, but desires something more. Eventually, she gets more than she bargained for when she meets a she-beast named Mandy who had been cursed for nine years by the work of a jealous enchantress. With kindness and perseverance, they both learn that true beauty is always found within.


**Beauty and the She-Beast**

**By: Kayleen E. Stuck**

**Based on the book "Beauty and the Beast" by Madame Le Prince De Beaumont**

**Partially influenced by Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" 1991, 1994 (Broadway) & 2017**

**Prologue**

Once upon a time, deep in the hidden heart of a faraway land called Oregonia, a beautiful young princess named Mandy lived in a shining castle. She had everything she desired, yet she was caring, gentle, and kind. One day, Mandy's two dear friends, the good enchantresses, Hayley and Kay-Kay paid her a little visit. While visiting, Kay-Kay presented the princess with a gift…. a single radiant rose. Mandy accepted the gift with a warm and sincere smile. "Whatever did I do to deserve such great friends like you two?" she asked gratefully.

"Just showing that you have kindness to spare is gratitude enough to deserve friends like us, Mandy," said Kay-Kay.

Meanwhile, in a remote tower, Ashlie, the evil enchantress and Hayley and Kay-Kay's sibling looked over her magic crystal ball and saw all that transpired. Over the past few years, she grew jealous of Mandy's friendship toward her sisters. For you see, she was full of vanity and greed. She also believed that people who were friends with Kay-Kay and Hayley instead of her were the ones who were rotten to the core and selfish. And Mandy's friendship to her sisters was just about enough to make her stand it no longer.

"I'll show her what happens when she messes with the wrong enchantress!" said Ashlie angrily. And she transported herself to Mandy's castle to pay the princess and her sisters a surprise visit.

Hayley and Kay-Kay did all they could to protect the young princess. But their sister's jealousy was more powerful than their friendship to Princess Mandy. Kay-Kay was the first to sense Ashlie's fit of jealous rage and she tried all she could to reason with her. "Ashlie! Please stop this madness!" said Kay-Kay. "Just because we're friends with the young princess doesn't mean we don't like hanging out with you anymore!"

"It doesn't matter!" Ashlie shouted. "When I finally get this done, everyone will have no choice but to worship me!"

Summoning all the evil power Ashlie could muster, she transformed Mandy into a hideous female beast. And she then placed a powerful spell on the castle and everyone else who lived there. Since Kay-Kay was the eldest enchantress sister in the family, she sent Ashlie into exile. "Ashlie, until you can learn the powers of good and expel all of your evil powers, you're forbidden ever to come back home," Kay-Kay said.

Ashlie said nothing for she was miffed enough that her older sister would send her away because of her jealousy. In less than a minute, she departed never to be heard from for quite some time. As Ashlie departed, Kay-Kay began to hope that sending her younger sister away because of her actions really would help Ashlie change her ways by learning the powers of good and expelling all evil.

After Ashlie left the castle, Kay-Kay, Hayley, and Mandy (now a She-Beast) were the only ones who remained. Ashamed of her monstrous form, Mandy tried to turn the enchantress sisters away as she said, "The way I look now must disgust and frighten you. Just go and leave me to wallow in grief."

But the sisters were so loyal to their friend, they refused to be turned away.

"No way, Mandy!" Kay-Kay said defensively. "A good friend poorly misjudged like you doesn't deserve to be friendless for the rest of her life. For what Hayley and I have seen, we're going to stick by you through thick and thin."

"Even though I'm now hideous?" Mandy asked.

"Your new outer appearance doesn't change who you are," said Hayley.

"Hayley's right, Mandy," Kay-Kay replied in agreement. "Here, I have something here that might cheer you up." She then presented Mandy with another gift… a magic mirror. "This magic mirror will be your only window to the outside world," Kay-Kay explained. "Remember the rose that I gave you?"

"Yes," Mandy said nodding.

Kay-Kay continued. "The rose that I gave you is truly an _enchanted_ rose which shall bloom until your 21st birthday. If you can learn to love another and earn his or her love by the time the last petal falls, then the spell will be broken."

"But what will happen if I don't?" Mandy asked worriedly.

"Then you'll be doomed to remain a female beast forever," Kay-Kay said grimly.

As the years passed, Kay-Kay and Hayley kept their vow to stay by Mandy no matter what. But alas, the young princess fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a she-beast?

**Chapter 1**

Nine years later, in the village of Genefieldburg, a beautiful young gal named Dani was wrapping up her day in her managerial duties at a local pet food supply store. She was a hard-working gal and loyal to those who relied on her the most. Holding a clipboard with a list of items to check and make sure they were in order in one hand and a pen to check off the list in the other, she said, "Let's see here. Cat food, check. Dog food, check. Bird and fish food, double check. Looks like everything's in order and prepared for the next day. Time for me to head home and help my little brother practice for the ever-anticipated recital in Alsalemand."

Besides being a hard worker, she was also quite the bookworm. Dani loved books that involved mystery, romance and adventure. Even though they were just stories, she longed for her own adventures that lay beyond her hometown.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the town local "hunk", Michael was strolling about the town with his right-hand man, Sean at his side. Michael was a big, tall, strong, and handsome brute and quite a hit with the ladies. He was also a bit of a womanizer. He could never keep his eyes on just one gal. No, sir. All the ladies loved him for his immense strength. While he loved all his lady friends and fans, Michael had his eye on one gal that he wanted to make his wife…Dani. Not only was he a brute, but he was also arrogant.

Of the multiple times that Michael wanted to make Dani his, she always turned him down. Between you and me, Michael was so stupid and too pigheaded to realize that Dani didn't ever want to be his gal. But he still wouldn't give up.

"She may be the most beautiful gal in town, Michael," Sean said. "But don't you ever get the feeling that she may not want you in her life?"

Michael just scoffed and said, "Oh, Sean, how can you be so naïve? She just says that to hide her true feelings for me. She's just a tad indecisive. I _do _deserve the best, don't I?"

"But of course," Sean admitted. "No doubt about that."

As you may have guessed, Sean could see reason, but Michael was more stubborn than a mule. When Michael saw Dani come around the corner while she was reading her favorite novel, he seized the opportunity to block her path.

"Hello, Dani," said Michael.

"Hello, Michael," said Dani.

As Dani was about to continue on her way, Michael snatched the book she had been reading from her.

Annoyed by this, Dani said, "Michael, I'd appreciate it if you gave me back my book, please."

Dani knew Michael was trying yet another method to win her heart and knew deep down that it was nothing more than a pathetic attempt at the most.

"How on Earth can you read these kinds of books?" Michael asked. "There's no pictures of any kind."

"You may be unaware of this, Michael, but most people use something called imagination when they read," Dani told him bluntly.

Not only was Dani hardworking and a bookworm, but she was also intelligent and strong-willed. Her father was a police detective and she learned all about being a strong person from him. Michael, being the stubborn donkey he was, kept putting his wiles on her to try and woo her.

"Dani," he said, "it's time that you got your head out of those books and pay attention to more important things."

"You mean, like yourself?" Dani asked skeptically.

"Exactly!" replied Michael. "Everyone in the village is talking about it. It's not right for a woman like you to read. For soon, she soon starts getting ideas and constantly thinking."

At his complaint, Dani retorted, "Michael, you are positively, despicably primeval."

"Why, thank you, Dani. What do you say we head to my place and take a look at my certain accomplishments?" asked Michael.

"I'll pass, Michael," Dani said politely. "I have to get home and help my brother practice for his recital."

"That musical egghead?" Sean asked teasingly. "Like he needs all the help he can get from his big sister like a baby!"

Michael and Sean laughed hysterically like hyenas and Dani, willing to defend her little brother turned around to face them and said defensively, "Don't talk about my little brother that way!"

"Yeah, don't talk about her little brother that way!" Michael then bonked Sean on the head, putting him in a daze.

"My brother's not a little crybaby and not just a musical egghead," Dani continued to say. "He's a musical genius!" Her anger now spent, she turned and marched on home.

Once Sean was out of his daze, Michael had another scheme up his sleeve.

"It's not over yet, Sean," said Michael. "Go to the woods and find the biggest deer you can find for my wedding feast."

Sean agreed with his plan, for he was quite a hunter himself and he wasn't afraid of anything.

"I won't let you down, Michael," Sean said bravely. "I'll soon be back with a deer so big, it'll be enough for the wedding guests."

Without another moment's hesitation, Sean headed off into the woods.

_Whatever it takes, Dani, I _will _win you fair and square,_ Michael thought to himself while smirking a sneaky smirk.

**Chapter 2**

Nate, Dani's little brother, was truly an intelligent pianist and quite a virtuoso. Dani was very proud of her talented pianist of a brother. And if Nate needed help preparing for a recital that took place outside their village, she would be more than happy to help him prepare and practice. As Dani reached home, she heard the familiar piano piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and knew that Nate was practicing for the big recital in the nearby village of Alsalemand. When Dani opened the door and entered the house, Nate was indeed at the piano as usual; but when she got closer to him, she noticed that he had an expression of worry and discontent.

"Hey, Nate," Dani said. "What's wrong?"

Upon hearing Dani's voice, Nate then turned and saw that his sister was home from work.

"Hey, sis," replied Nate. "I'm just a little on edge about the recital in Alsalemand. What if they don't like the piece I've chosen?"

"I'm sure they'll love it," Dani said soothingly.

Nate wasn't so sure. Even though he knew Dani was smart and always supportive of him, he still had his doubts every now and then.

"You always tell me that," Nate said dejectedly.

"That may be so, but haven't I always been right in the end?" Dani asked.

Nate considered what Dani said for a moment. After a while, he finally said with more confidence, "You're right as usual, sis. Let's get to practicing. I want to be ready to roll them in the aisles."

"That's the can-do spirit I like, bro!" Dani said.

Dani felt proud to help her little brother out of the dumps when he felt at a loss. As Nate began practicing his number, he asked, "So, sis, how was work today?"

"It was good as always, Nate," said Dani. "The usual organizing shelves of various animal food, checking the itinerary and so on."

Then Dani thought about what Michael had said to her earlier on when she was heading home from work. "It's high time you got your head out of those books," Michael's voice echoed in her mind. "It's not right for a woman like you to read. For soon, she starts getting ideas and constantly thinking."

"Nate," Dani said, "if I were to ask you something, would you answer me honestly and truthfully?"

"Don't I always?" Nate asked. "After all, I _am _your younger brother."

After a moment, Dani finally gathered her wits and asked, "Do you think I'm…an oddball?"

Nate accidentally struck a false note on one of the piano keys as he heard Dani's question. He soon turned to her and said, "My older sister, an oddball? Now where on earth would you get a ridiculous idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Dani. "There are some people who talk. I guess I feel as though I don't really belong here. There's no one else in town I can talk to except for you and your close friend, Maddie."

"What about Michael?" asked Nate. "He's a handsome dude."

"He's handsome, all right," Dani said, clearly ticked off. "And rude and conceited…. On the whole, he's nothing more than a complete jerk!" Calming down, she then said, "Oh, Nate, he's not for me."

Nate knew how Dani felt about Michael. It was true that Michael _was_ handsome from what he had heard from the townspeople in the village. However, he also knew that the facts that Michael was rude, conceited and a complete jerk were true as well. Seeing Dani upset helped Nate realize that he should console her rather than talk more about a certain someone who tended to be an instigator and wanted his older sister to be his gal.

"Don't you worry, sis," Nate said soothingly. "You'll find the right person someday. I'm certain that you will."

Then Dani smiled, grateful that she had a little brother who truly understood her and her true ambitions. Soon after, Dani and Nate continued with their practice session all the way into the night.

The next morning, after a little rest and a complete breakfast to keep Nate awake, he headed off to Alsalemand for the big recital. Dani waved good-bye to her brother as he departed.

"Good luck, Nate!" Dani called out. "And be careful!"

"I'll be fine, sis!" Nate called back. "You take care of yourself while I'm gone!"

**Chapter 3**

As Nate was heading towards Alsalemand, he was so preoccupied with all the positive thoughts Dani had said to him; saying how great he would be at the recital and kept on thinking about the Mozart piece he'd be playing that he unknowingly took a wrong turn and started heading into the woods. After a while, when Nate got deeper into the woods, he began to freak out. "I should be near Alsalemand by now," he said worriedly. As Nate looked around, he saw no sign posts leading him back to civilization anywhere (on account that it was pitch-black dark). "Oh, no!" Nate panicked. "I was so distracted by Dani's positive thoughts and the piece I was going to perform at the recital, I missed the turn! There's got to be a sign leading back to civilization somewhere!" Just when it seemed it couldn't get any worse for him, there came an ominous howl in the distance.

_There's only one creature I know of that howls like that!_ Nate thought to himself fearfully. As he turned to find the source of the howl, he soon saw a pair of yellow eyes staring down right at him from a hill a few kilometers away. Just as he had feared, the howl came from a pack of… "Wolves!" Nate cried. Panicked and terrified, he turned and ran with the wolves right behind Nate approached the castle, he knew that he'd be safe inside until the wolves departed. Without a moment's hesitation, he entered the castle and closed its doors as tightly as he could; unaware that when the wolves saw him enter the castle, they turned tail and headed back into the deep part of the woods.

Inside the castle, Nate heard the sound of departing paw steps outside. Knowing that the wolves were finally off his trail, he let out a sigh of relief. But his relief soon vanished when he noticed the interior of the castle and saw that there was neither a butler nor a maid to be found. "Hello?" Nate called. There was no answer. "Hello?" Little did Nate know that there were indeed others in the castle, but they weren't exactly human. That is, except for one. Her name was Belle. Up until Ashlie cast her spell upon Mandy and the entire castle, Belle was a Persian cat. Now thanks to the curse, she was a human. "That poor boy," Belle said to herself sympathetically. Then she called out, "Pardon me, young sir, you are welcome here."

Nate was startled when he heard a voice in what he assumed to be a deserted castle. He then turned in the direction where he had heard the voice and said, "Is someone there?"

Belle knew that she couldn't stay in the dark forever, so she finally gathered up all her courage, approached Nate, and said, "Hello, there. I'm Belle."

Nate was a little startled at first, but eventually, he felt a sense of relief. "Hello, there," he said politely. "My name is Nate."

"Nate?" Belle asked. "Handsome name. I sort of have an eye on someone who lives here, too."

"Really?" Nate asked intrigued. "What's his name?"

"Felix," said another voice off-distance.

When Nate heard another voice, he was startled again. He turned to the direction of the second voice and defensively said, "Show yourself, whoever you are!"

Fearing that Nate was preparing to fight out of fear, Belle grabbed his arm and said, "No need to be scared, Nate. Whenever new people arrive at the castle, Felix tends to be a little shy. But he's really a nice, gentle guy."

In an instant, Nate calmed down once more. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just that sometimes, I…."

Belle soon understood what he was trying to say and she said, "It's okay, Nate. I understand." Then she called out to Felix, "It's all right, Felix. You can come on out. This young man here gets a little startled easily by unknown creatures."

After hearing Belle's explanation, Felix slowly started to come out of the shadows and made himself known to Nate as he said, "Perfectly understandable. I got startled easily myself when I was young, too."

As Felix got a little closer, Nate was surprised by the fact that Felix was not a human, but a mule.

"A talking mule?" he mused. "I thought I'd never see the day. Man, if Dani could see this, she'd never believe her eyes or ears!"

"Nate, who's Dani?" Belle asked, curious to know Nate better.

"Dani is my older sister," Nate replied. "If you get a chance to meet her one day, you'll see that she's really nice."

Knowing that Belle was curious to know more about Nate, Felix was curious to know how Nate came to arrive at the castle. "Nate," said Felix, "if you don't mind my asking, how did you come to be at the castle? Almost no one ever makes it past those vicious grey wolves that dwell in those woods."

Nate knew that he would eventually be asked to tell how he managed to find the castle. So, he finally told Belle and Felix how it all began. "You see," he said, "it all started yesterday, when Dani came home from her job. She helped me practice for the number I was planning to perform at a recital in Alsalemand, which is about 10 miles from our village of Genefieldburg. She also helped me think positively about it so I wouldn't be so nervous. Then, earlier this morning, I left home for Alsalemand to head to the recital. But somehow, I got so distracted by the positive thoughts that my sister put into my head and the piece by Mozart I planned to perform at said recital that I wound up lost in the woods. That was when I ran into the wolf pack. I was so scared, I fled for my life until I came upon this castle. I then decided to hide in here until the heat died down. Then suddenly, I heard paw steps fleeing from the castle gates. I can't seem to figure out why the wolves departed so suddenly. It's almost as if there might be some creature or something like that in here that they fear."

Nate suddenly felt a chill and he started to shiver. "Oh, Nate, you're chilled to the bone," Belle said sympathetically. "Come and warm yourself up by the fire in the den." Belle then led Nate to the den where there was a fireplace with a fire all set up. While Nate was content and warming himself up by the fire, Felix was getting worried.

Outside the den, Felix said to Belle, "Belle, I know you have a kind heart and all, but don't you know what the mistress will do if she finds out we let a stranger in?" Belle knew what would happen, all too well. But that didn't stop her kind nature, not one little bit. Seeing that Belle couldn't be deterred from helping Nate feel comfortable, Felix decided to help her out despite the consequences. He went into the next room and fetched a warm blanket so Nate would wrap himself up to keep himself extra warm.

No sooner had Nate begun to feel supremely cozy, when a young cat came into the room and jumped onto Nate's lap which surprised him. "Oh! Hello, kitty. What's _your_ name?"

"Nicole," the cat replied. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Then Nicole snuggled herself against Nate's chest and purred as she fell asleep on his lap. _This is incredible! _Nate thought. _I can't help but wonder why there's talking animals in this place. They're not animatronic, that's for sure. If I were a detective like in one of Dani's novels, I'd soon find the answer to this mystery. _His "mystery" was soon solved when the fire suddenly went out and he heard an ominous, monstrous roar.

"ROAR!"

Nate was startled once more and Belle and Felix were just as startled as he was. Nicole was so startled that she jumped off Nate's lap and hid behind Felix. Belle, however, was starting to feel guilty. Even though she had good intentions, she knew that she was going to be in serious trouble. _Felix was right! _ Belle thought. _Why didn't I listen? _

"There's a stranger in here," growled someone or something off-distance.

"Mistress, allow me to explain," said Belle. "This young man was lost in the woods. He was frightfully cold, so…"

The mysterious voice cut Belle off with another deafening roar before Belle could finish her sentence. Seeing that Belle was struggling, Felix came to her defense and said, "Mistress, Belle was only showing compassion and sympathy for the young man. She really did have good intentions and…" Once again, the explanation was cut off by a monstrous and thunderous roar. As frightened as Nate was, he tried to calmly sneak away. But instead, he ran into the She-Beast. When he looked up, he was scared out of his wits. "Who are you?" the She-Beast asked. "And what are you doing here?"

After trying to gain courage, Nate finally replied in a terrified voice, "My name's Nate, and I was heading to Alsalemand for a recital. But I lost my way in the woods, and…"

"You are not welcome here!" the She-Beast said angrily. "You have actually come to stare at the She-Beast, haven't you?"

"No!" Nate said. "I'm sorry! I really meant no harm! I just wanted a place to stay!"

"Oh, I'll give you a place to stay!" said the She-Beast. And with that, she grabbed Nate by the shirt and dragged him out of the room, much to the chagrin of Belle, Nicole and Felix, and slammed the door behind them.

**Chapter 4**

The next day, back in Genefieldburg, Michael was once again up to his old tricks. He had yet another method of convincing Dani to be his gal; and in his mind, he was thinking that this time, he was sure he'd win her heart once and for all. _This plan will be perfect! _Michael thought. _I'll just make her an offer that she can't possibly refuse. This will definitely convince her of her true feelings for me. _Gathering his wits and putting on his ebullient charm, he marched up the small staircase in front of Dani's house, knocked on the door, and called out in a clear voice, "Dani! Hello! Anybody home?"

Inside the house, Dani had been reading the novel that she was reading two days earlier. At the sound of Michael's voice, she thought to herself, _Oh, no! Well, if he really wants to talk to me, I'd better humor him and let him in. While I'm at it, I'll see what he wants._ True to her inner voice, Dani placed a bookmark into her book, went to the door and opened it. "Michael!" she said, trying to sound pleasant. "What a nice surprise."

"Isn't it, though?" asked Michael. "I'm just full of surprises. I have a little something for you." He reached into his pocket and handed her… "A miniature portrait…Of you," Dani said uncomfortably. "You really shouldn't have." She soon set the portrait aside somewhere no one in her family including Nate and herself would look at it.

Afterwards, Michael sought the opportunity to tell Dani the true reason of his presence. "You know, Dani, there's not a girl in this town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes," he said. "This is the day that all of your dreams will come true."

"Just what do you know about my dreams, Michael?" Dani skeptically asked.

"Plenty," said Michael. "Picture this: A rustic cabin, dinner roasting over the fire, my petite wife massaging my feet while the young ones play on the floor with the dogs. Oh, we'll have six or maybe more."

"Dogs?" asked Dani confused.

"No, Dani," Michael said. "Strapping young boys, like me."

"Imagine that," Dani said sarcastically.

"And do you know who that petite wife will be?" Michael asked.

"I'm afraid to guess."

"You, Dani."

As you may have guessed, Dani was freaked out. "Michael, I-I'm…speechless," she stammered. "I really don't know what to say." Dani had backed up against the front door as Michael moved closer to her. Before she could budge an inch, Michael had pinned her against the door so she wouldn't escape him. "So, Dani, what'll it be?" Michael asked. "Is it 'yes' or is it 'oh, heck yes'?" Seeing that she was caught, Dani had a last inch idea to save herself from being in Michael's creepy arms for another moment. She reached for the door knob and prepared herself to open the door. As she did so, she said, "I'm sorry, Michael," she said. "But I don't really deserve you." And with that, she opened the door and moved away from it; which in turn caused Michael to fall through the door opening and fall flat on his face on the pavement. Michael soon recovered from the fall, though, and he dusted himself off. _That girl! _he thought. _That blasted, stubborn girl! Always playing hard to get. I swear that I _will_ have Dani for my wife! And I'll make sure that no one makes no mistake about that! _Then he stormed out of Dani's neighborhood mad as a hornet.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Dani saw Michael storming out of her neighborhood and she was soon filled with relief. _I can't believe it!_ she thought. _He asked me to marry him! Imagine: Me, the wife of that boorish, brainless…. Seriously? Madam Michael, his petite wife?! _"No way I'll ever accept to be his bride!" Dani finally exclaimed. "I just want so much more than this provincial life! I want adventure and excitement and someone who truly understands me and my ambitions. Who knows if there _is_ such a person who will be right for me?"

Dani was so filled with remorse that she barely heard the faint flutter of flapping wings. When she finally heard the sound, she jumped. Curious to know what caused the wing flutters, Dani stepped outside and was surprised to see a swan face to face with her.

"Hello, there," Dani said sweetly. "Where did you come from?"

To which the swan replied, "From a castle deep in the woods, that's where."

"EEK!" Dani yelped after she first heard the swan speak. "Did-did you just talk?"

"Yes, I did," the swan answered. "Sorry if I scared you."

"That's all right," Dani said. "I'm not the type of gal to get mad at someone who scares me out of my wits. Unless, of course, it was on purpose. My name's Dani, by the way."

"And I'm Louise Belle," replied the swan gracefully. "Listen to me, the reason why I came here was to tell you about your brother."

When Dani heard Louise mention her brother, she was shocked and realized that something must have happened to him on the way to Alsalemand. "I know that Nate headed off to Alsalemand yesterday, but I haven't heard from him since," she said worriedly. "Tell me, what's happened to him?"

Then Louise explained to Dani what had happened. "When your brother was on his way to Alsalemand, he got lost in the woods. However, being chased by wolves led him to the castle where he stumbled upon for shelter. A couple of the servants led him to the den to warm up and feel comfortable, but our mistress found him and she asked him why he had been there. He tried to explain to her that he only needed a place to stay. Instead of showing compassion and sympathy to your brother, she dragged him away and placed him in a prison cell located in the tower."

After Dani heard Louise's explanation, she was as frightened as she was worried about her brother's safety and health. She then knew what she had to do. "I've got to rescue him," she said with determination. "Louise, can you take me to him?"

"That's what I'm here for, Dani," Louise said. "Follow me."

And without another minute to lose, Dani and Louise were off to Mandy's castle.

**Chapter 5**

Many hours later, Dani and Louise finally arrived at the castle. When Dani got a good look at it, she was amazed.

"This is where Nate is held prisoner?" she asked.

"Yep," Louise replied. "He's in the tower prison cell that I told you about earlier."

"We just have to get Nate out of there somehow, Louise," Dani said. "One question though…How _will_ we get inside?"

"Just open the door," Louise answered overtly. "Don't worry, Dani. We'll be fine. I know someone who'll lead us to the tower your brother is imprisoned in." Without another moment's hesitation, Dani heeded Louise's word and they opened the door, got inside the castle and closed the castle doors tight. When they were inside the castle, Dani could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the interior. She had never seen such architecture in her life. "It's amazing!" exclaimed an amazed Dani. "I have never seen such architecture before. I've only read about this type of architecture in books. It's incredible!"

"I'm pleased that you're thrilled with it, Dani," Louise said. "But haven't you forgotten that we're here to find and rescue your brother?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. So, who's the someone who'll lead us to the tower where my brother has been imprisoned?" asked Dani.

"You'll know when you see her," said Louise. "We've been best friends for as long as I can remember."

Dani was curious about this mysterious person who would lead her and Louise to her brother, yet she was also intrigued. "I'd like to meet her sometime, Louise," she said. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Robin," said Louise. "And coincidentally, that's what she is."

Before Dani could ask Louise what she meant by her last sentence, Robin, Louise's best friend since childhood, appeared on the scene.

"Louise, where the devil have you been?" Robin asked seemingly worried.

"Just out, my friend," Louise said reassuringly.

When Dani saw the two birds talking to one another, she couldn't believe her eyes nor her ears. _First a talking swan, and now a talking robin?_ Dani thought. _And I thought it was mainly parrots that were the birds compatible of human language._ Louise then directed Robin's attention to Dani and said, "Robin, this is Dani, Nate's older sister. She's come to find him."

"So, _you're_ Dani," said Robin. "Nate's told me about you. Pleased to meet you."

"My brother, is he all right?" Dani asked worriedly. "I have to know!"

"Yes, Dani, he's fine," said Robin. "Just calm down and come on. I'll take you to him."

Once Dani felt a sense of trust in her newfound friends, she willingly followed Louise and Robin to Nate's cell in the tower. Little did she know that as they were heading to the tower, Hayley had been watching them unseen. _Dani, huh? _Hayley thought. _She just _may _be the gal who might break the spell! I got to tell Kay-Kay and fast!_ Without wasting another second, she hurried as fast as she could to find Kay-Kay and relay the news to her.

Meanwhile, Dani, Robin and Louise finally made it to the tower where Nate was held prisoner. Without a minute to lose, Dani carefully opened the door to the tower and stepped inside. Louise and Robin followed, flying above her. "Hello?" Dani called out. "Nate? Are you here? It's me, Dani!" In a nearby cell, Nate had been in a fetal position with his arms around him to keep himself warm. When he heard Dani's voice calling his name, he couldn't believe his ears.

"Dani?" he called back. "Is-is that you?"

Once Dani heard Nate's voice responding to her, she was filled with joy and relief that her brother was okay. "Yes, Nate," she replied. "It's me!"

Once Dani located the cell where Nate was imprisoned, she was overjoyed that he was alive and well.

"Oh, Nate," said Dani. "Thank God you're okay!"

"How did you find me?" Nate asked.

"I had a little help," Dani said. "Who's done this to you?"

"There's no time to explain that part, Dani," said Nate with a tone of terror in his voice. "You've got to leave now!"

"I came this far to rescue you, not to leave you behind again!" Dani said determined. "If we can find the keys to this cell, we'll be out of here faster than you can say 'Jack Robinson'."

Just as Dani was about to find the keys to Nate's cell, a dark figure blocked her path. When she looked up, she was scared to death, but quickly managed to put on a brave face as she asked the figure, "Who are you?"

"I am the mistress of this castle," the figure replied.

"So, _you're_ responsible for imprisoning my brother!" said Dani. "Please let him out! He gets a bad cold easily in a cold environment!"

"Then he shouldn't have trespassed to this godforsaken place!" the figure shouted as she began to turn away.

"Please, I'll do anything!" Dani pleaded. "If you let him go, you can take me in his stead."

The figure couldn't believe it when she heard Dani say she would be willing to take her own brother's place as her prisoner. Then she turned toward Dani and asked, "You would honestly take his place?"

"Yes," Dani answered. "And if need be, I'll be your prisoner forever. Could you come into the light so I can see you better?"

The figure did as she was told and when she was visually seen in the light, Dani was horrified to learn that the dark figure was…a female beast. Even though Nate was against Dani taking his place as the creature's prisoner, Dani bravely stepped forward and faced her.

"You really promise to be my prisoner forever?" the She-Beast inquired.

After a moment, Dani finally answered with bravery and conviction, "You have my word."

That said and done, the deal was struck and Nate was freed. Alas, it broke Nate's heart that his own older sister would take his place just to protect him.

Outside the tower, Dani and Nate said their good-byes.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" Dani asked of Nate.

"Don't worry, sis, I will." Nate reassured Dani. "I hope our paths will cross again one day, someday soon."

After Nate and Dani said their farewells, Robin escorted Nate back to the crossroads and from there, he would find the sign to lead him back to Genefieldburg.

Back in the castle, Dani was heartbroken over taking her brother's place as the She-Beast's prisoner. But in her heart, she knew she did the right thing. Seeing Dani in a depressed state, Louise thought of a brilliant idea that would cheer her up. She flew up to the She-Beast and said, "Mistress, since Dani is going to be here for quite some time, I was thinking that maybe you might want to offer her a more comfortable room. It's the least we can do since she gave up what freedom she had to help her brother."

The She-Beast knew that Louise was right and she finally turned to Dani. "Come with me," she said. "I'll show you to your room."

Dani soon noticed that the She-Beast was offering her generosity and she willingly followed her.

After a while, Dani gathered up what bravery she had left and said, "I don't believe we properly introduced ourselves. I'm Dani."

Noticing that Dani was being polite and using good etiquette, the She-Beast knew that she had to use good manners, too. "And I'm Mandy," the She-Beast said at last. After the introductions, Mandy laid out the ground rules to Dani. "This castle is your home now," she said, "so you can go wherever you like, except for the North Wing."

"Why?" Dani asked curiously. "What's in the North Wing?"

"It's forbidden!" Mandy exclaimed sternly.

With that, she continued to lead Dani to her room. When they finally got there, Dani walked into the room cautiously. Once Dani was in the room, Mandy said, "If you need anything, my servants will attend to your needs." Before she left, she added, "You will join me for dinner. This isn't a request!" Then she slammed the door behind her.

Brokenhearted and perplexed, Dani threw herself onto the bed and cried softly.

**Chapter 6**

Back in Genefieldburg at a local bar, Michael was pretty ticked off at Dani's rejection earlier that day. Apparently, a few glasses of beer did no good to cheer him up at all.

"Who on earth does Dani think she is?" Michael asked angrily. "That blasted girl has tangled with the wrong man! No one ever says no to me! Dismissed, rejected, humiliated! 'Sorry, Michael, but I really don't deserve you,' she said. It's more than I can bear!"

"More beer, Mike?" Sean asked.

"What for? Nothing helps," said Michael. "I'm disgraced."

"Who, you? Never!" Sean exclaimed. "Michael, you really need to pull yourself together."

Then Sean reminded Michael there were certain talents and traits that he had and others did not; such as slickness and speed. He and the other bar patrons also reminded Michael that no one else had such great strengths and bravery and courageousness as he did.

Feeling more encouraged, Michael said at last, "You're right. As a specimen, I am indeed intimidating."

The rest of the bar patrons couldn't agree more. Being reminded of the great guy he was and others were not did make Michael feel a lot better and as a result, he began his usual ordeal of showing off his feats of strength which the other gals (except for Dani) went gaga over.

At that precise moment, Nate rushed in yelling, "Help! Please, someone help me! I need your help! She's got her locked in a tower!"

"Who? Who's locked in a tower?" asked one bar patron.

"Dani!" said Nate frantically. "We must go! There's not a moment to lose!"

"Whoa! Slow down, Nate," Michael said. "Who's got Dani locked up in a tower?"

"A beast!" Nate exclaimed. "A horrible, horrid, monstrous female beast!"

Thinking that Nate had gone crazy, Michael, his lady friends, Sean and the other bar patrons laughed themselves silly. Then the bar patrons agonized Nate by asking about this so-called female beast.

"Is it a big female beast?" asked the first bar patron.

"Huge!" said Nate.

"With large, sharp claws?" asked the second bar patron.

"The largest and sharpest!" Nate cried.

"And a long, ugly snout?" asked the third bar patron.

"Grotesquely ugly!"

"And sharp, cruel fangs?" Sean asked.

"Yes! Yes!" Nate then turned to Michael and asked desperately, "Will you help me?"

After pondering for a second, Michael finally said, "All right, Nate. We'll help you out."

But Michael didn't mean to help Nate save Dani in this case. He meant to help him out of the bar. Without wasting another second, he called on two of the bar patrons to pick Nate up by under the arms and signaled them to throw him out.

Outside, Nate got up and retorted to the patrons who had thrown him out, "Fine! If you won't help me find my older sister, I'll go alone!" And with that, he dusted himself off and stormed away mad as heck.

Their task done, the bar patrons headed back into the bar while making fun of Nate behind his back.

"Crazy young Nate!" the first bar patron said laughing.

"Yeah!" replied the second bar patron laughing as well. "He's always good for a laugh!" And the pair laughed hysterically as they departed for the other end of the bar.

What the pair didn't know was that Michael overheard them talking about Nate and calling him crazy. However, hearing what they had said gave Michael a wonderful, nasty, awful idea. And while smiling devilishly, he turned to Sean and said, "Sean, I have a plan." Sean was eager to hear about Michael's plan and perked up his ear to listen.

After listening to his plan, Sean was shocked and he said, "But won't Dani suspect that you were the one who…?"

"Relax, Sean, old friend," said Michael. "I'm not worried. You and I both know that Dani cares deeply for her little brother and will do anything to protect him."

After Michael explained his plan further, Sean finally got the picture. "Now I get it!" Sean exclaimed. "Okay, Mike, I'm in."

"As soon as Nate is taken care of, we'll all soon be celebrating my wedding," said Michael.

Thusly, the evil scheme was set. There was no turning back.

**Chapter 7**

Back at the castle in her room, Dani was beginning to calm down a little bit. While she looked out the window from her room, she thought to herself, _I _do _miss Nate deeply. Even though it broke my heart to take his place as that monster's prisoner, at least I'll know that he'll be safe in the provincial town that I once called home._

By the time Dani went back to her bed and sat down on the edge, there came a knock at the door. She turned to the door and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Louise, Dani," said Louise from behind the door. "I brought a couple other servants who also live here to meet you and thought you'd like some tea."

Once Dani heard the familiar voice, she was relieved. "Come in," she said.

When Dani saw Louise enter the room with Felix and Belle behind her, she was surprised to see that a mule servant and only one human servant (who was carrying the tray of tea and didn't seem to be affected by a certain spell cast upon by an evil and jealous enchantress) dwelled within the castle walls.

"Dani, this is Felix and Belle," said Louise pointing to her fellow servants. "They're close friends of mine."

After Belle set the tray of tea on the small table near the bed, she and Felix bowed to Dani with sincerity.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dani," Belle said.

"And it's our honor to serve and help you in any way we can," Felix added. "Your brother had told us a little bit about you. I can see that he wasn't joshing us."

Upon realizing that the entire place was mainly occupied with enchanted animals and very little humans, Dani decided to let go of her weirded out feeling that she first felt when she encountered Louise back in Genefieldburg and make the most of it. At that moment, a yellow Labrador dog came out from under the bed where she had been hiding and playfully pounced on Dani knocking her down to the floor. Louise, Felix and Belle recognized the dog immediately.

"Guru!" Louise said sternly. "What the heck were you doing under there?"

"Just taking my dog nap," the dog replied. "How was _I_ to know that we'd be having a guest in this room?"

Dani thought it silly for a dog to be named Guru, but when she heard the dog speak, she wasn't weirded out in the least. "Did I hear right that your name is Guru?" she asked.

"Yes, but everyone else in this castle besides Louise, Belle and Felix calls me that for short," Guru answered. "My full name is Guru Bajhan."

"I think I'll just stick with Guru. By the way, I'm Dani," said Dani as she held her hand to shake Guru's paw.

Once Guru realized that Dani was wanting to shake her paw, she held her paw out for Dani to grasp it in her hand and said, "Glad to meet you."

Louise then landed on Felix's back so she could rest her wings for a while. After taking a deep breath, she said, "That was a very brave thing you did back there, Dani."

"We all think so," said Belle.

"But now, I've lost my brother, my dreams, everything," Dani said depressingly. "I'm going to miss Nate so much." Then Dani broke into tears.

Felix didn't like seeing people depressed, even if they did an honorable thing for their family members. He knew the best thing for him to do at that moment was to give her whatever words of comfort he could. Felix inched a little closer to Dani, put his hoof on her leg and said, "Cheer up, Dani. Everything will turn out all right in the end. You'll see."

Once Dani heard Felix's comforting words, she started to cheer up a little.

"He's right, Dani," said Belle. "If you'll excuse us, we got dinner to put on the table. Come on, Felix." And she turned to leave.

Besides being a good-natured mule, Felix knew when he was needed to help his fellow servants in the castle with some of the most important tasks; including putting supper on the table. And the one servant he loved working with the most was Belle. Long before Ashlie's spell, Belle always loved to cuddle with Felix; ad from the very start, he thought that Belle was the most beautiful Persian cat he had ever seen. But soon after Ashlie cast the powerful spell on the entire castle turning Felix into a mule and Belle into a human, Felix started to feel mixed emotions; for after a while, Mule Felix and Human Belle secretly fell in love. However, neither one of them worked up the courage to tell one another the truth about their feelings, because they weren't sure how one or the other would react. Thusly, they each decided to keep their truthful emotions a secret.

Without wasting another moment, Felix headed for the door, turned to Dani waving good-bye as he said, "See you later, Dani," and he left so as not to keep Belle waiting.

Once Dani, Louise and Guru were finally alone, they walked to a nearby dresser. "Well, now," said Louise, "what shall we dress you up for dinner?"

"Let's see what these drawers contain," said Guru wagging her tail. Being a dog, it was Guru's natural instinct to dig deep and see what she could find. Then after a while of digging, she finally managed to find a great outfit for Dani to wear. "You'll look amazing in this outfit, Dani," she said. "To quote an old saying, 'It's the cat's meow'."

Louise gave Guru a skeptical look, thinking that it was odd for her to use an expression referring to cats since she was a dog. Dani looked at the outfit that Guru put in front of her in awe. She did like it and all, but since it was only her first night in a beast's castle, she didn't feel like dining with Mandy after the way Mandy had spoken to her.

"Listen, Guru," Dani said at last. "It's very kind of you and Louise, but I'm not going to dinner."

Needless to say, Louise and Guru were shocked to know that Dani didn't want to go to dinner. They did all they could to try and convince her to go.

"But you must!" exclaimed Guru.

"She's right, Dani," Louise said. "You heard what the mistress said."

"She may be _your _mistress," retorted Dani clearly getting miffed. "But she's not mine!"

Dani soon noticed the shocked expressions on Louise and Guru's faces and she at once felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry, guys," she said. "It's just that…"

"Chin up, Dani," Guru said compassionately. "It's okay."

"Yeah. We understand your anger and your sadness," said Louise empathetically. "Anyway, though we don't know you well, we hope that we'll be friends. Who knows? In due time, you just may find that this place will be your home, too."

When all was said and done, Louise left the room to wait in the den for Felix and Belle to be done getting dinner ready and on the table while Guru stayed and kept Dani company.

**Chapter 8**

As Louise waited patiently in the den, Felix and Belle finally came in from the kitchen. "Hey, guys. Is dinner ready yet?" asked Louise.

"Just about," Felix said. "Belle and I didn't know what Dani likes to eat, so we warmed up everything in the kitchen."

"Excellent," said Louise. "I'll go inform the mist…Honk!"

After Felix and Belle heard Louise make a swan sound for the first time, they gasped in horror. Poor Louise was befuddled.

"I don't know what came over me," Louise said.

Felix soon understood the situation.

"It's almost as if you're starting to sound more like a swan than a human," said Felix. "What could be the reason?"

"I have a theory," Belle said at last. "It's probably because of the spell."

Belle didn't know how right she was; for just then, Kay-Kay arrived in the den, and Belle, Felix and Louise respectfully bowed down to the enchantress.

"Mandy will be down shortly," said Kay-Kay. "I heard the commotion down here. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Louise began to sound more like a swan," Belle explained. "I'm thinking it's because of the spell."

"You can believe Belle, Kay-Kay," said Louise. "What she says is true…Honk!"

Louise put her wing over her mouth. It had happened again. Having heard Louise sound more like swan than a human gave Kay-Kay the evidence she needed to prove to her that Belle's theory was unfortunately correct. "Seems to me that you're right, Belle," Kay-Kay said. "I sense that Ashlie's spell is the cause of Louise's dilemma. If Mandy and Dani don't fall in love soon, the spell will be permanent and will never be undone."

When Felix heard Kay-Kay say Dani's name as if she already knew her, he was shocked and a tad suspicious. "How did _you_ know that the gal's name was Dani?" Felix asked. "You haven't even met her yet."

"Hayley and Louise both notified me of the girl's name, Felix," Kay-Kay replied. "Hayley had seen Louise enter the castle with Dani in tow and had learned her name before Louise and Robin led Dani to the tower where Nate had been kept and freed him from his cell."

"It's true, Felix," Louise admitted. "No one ever keeps secrets from the good enchantress, Kay-…Honk!"

Kay-Kay understood Louise's embarrassment, and after a while, she knew what she had to do to make her feel better. "Louise," she said, "I'm really not supposed to do this, but I know of a way to get your swan sounds under control."

Upon learning that there was a solution to her issue, Louise was thrilled. However, it left Felix and Belle curious.

"How _can_ you control Louise's swan sounds, Kay-Kay?" Felix asked.

Kay-Kay turned to Felix and said, "I happen to have a recipe for a pill that help control animal sounds in folks who have been turned into whatever animal they may be." She then turned to back to Louise and continued, "Until I can get the pills ready for you, Louise, you'll have to talk less in order to prevent sounding like a swan."

When Louise heard this, she felt like she was stung by a bee. Although, deep down, she knew that whether it was a set of instructions from either Kay-Kay or Hayley, she had to heed such instructions. Belle soon started to feel sorry for Louise. She also knew that she had to do something to help her friend feel better.

"Louise, if you need help finishing whatever you need to say in case you feel like you're going to make a swan sound, I'd be glad and willing to assist," Belle said.

"That's very kind of you, Belle," said Louise. "Very well, I accept."

Belle was relieved when Louise accepted her help. Somehow, she could tell that Louise had had enough embarrassment for one night.

"It's really nice of you to want to help Louise in any way you can, Belle," said Kay-Kay. "Louise should be okay for now. I'll check on you all later." And with that, she waved good-bye and left. In less than a minute later, Mandy entered the den. Belle and Felix bowed down to her as respectfully as they did to Kay-Kay.

"It's time for dinner," said Mandy. "Where's Dani?"

"I'll go check on her, mistress," said Louise, and off she flew to Dani's room as fast as greased lightning.

While Mandy, Felix and Belle waited for Louise to come back down with Dani, Mandy was starting to get testy and impatient. "What's taking her so long?" she asked angrily. "WHY HASN'T SHE ARRIVED YET!?"

"Mistress, please try to be patient," Belle said assertively and gently. "The gal has lost her brother and her freedom all in one day."

"Mistress, have you thought that, maybe this gal just might be the one to break the spell?" asked Felix.

"OF COURSE I HAVE!" Mandy bellowed. "I'm no moron."

Belle could hardly contain her excitement over the prospect of the spell being finally broken, for it was then that she said most jubilantly, "Fantastic! So, you'll fall in love with her, she in return will fall in love with you, and poof! The spell is broken! We'll be our normal selves again by midnight!"

Felix could tell that Belle was excited about becoming her normal self once more, but he knew that he had to break the news to her as gently as possible. "It's not as easy as it seems, Belle," he said. "Things like love take time."

"But Felix, we don't _have_ time," Belle pointed out. "The rose has already started wilting."

"Oh, it's no use," Mandy said dejectedly. "She's so beautiful and I'm…Well, just look at me. You all know what I am. I don't need to say it."

Deep down, Felix and Belle knew that their mistress had a point; but they couldn't bear to see her in a depressed state. After a while, Belle finally said, "Mistress, you need to help Dani to see past all that."

"I don't know how," Mandy said, ashamed and miffed.

Then Felix sternly said, "Well, the first thing to do is to make yourself look more presentable by sitting up straight like a well-behaved lady."

"And don't forget to smile warmly and sincerely," added Belle.

"But not in the way that will frighten her. Remember to impress her with your wit."

"Be gentle and shower her with compliments in a sincere manner."

"And above all," Felix and Belle said in unison, "you must keep your temper under control!"

Just then, they all heard faint wing flaps. It was just Louise returning from Dani's room. She soon landed gracefully on top of the chair. Seeing Louise being quiet, Mandy got a little annoyed. "Well, where is she?" she asked annoyed.

"Who?" Louise asked confused. Then she realized, "Oh, Dani! Of course!" Louise laughed nervously and said, "Well, she…er…uh…she…." Louise couldn't find a way to put the situation delicately. After a while, she gulped and said, "She's not coming." Belle and Felix were shocked hearing the news, but Mandy was as mad as a hornet! "Not coming, huh?" Mandy roared. "Well, we'll see about that!" And Mandy stormed up the stairs toward Dani's room to confront her with Felix, Belle and Louise in tow. Felix, Belle and Louise tried to reason with Mandy, but it was no use. There would be no way of calming their mistress down when she was this furious. When Mandy finally approached Dani's door, she pounded on the door extremely hard and shouted, "I thought I had told you to come down to dinner!"

"I'm not hungry," Dani said from behind the door.

"If you don't come out of there, I'll have no choice but to break down the door!" Mandy said furiously.

Felix could see that his mistress was pretty ticked off, but he also knew that there was a gentler way of reasoning with others. "Mistress," he calmly said, "I could be wrong; but that may not be the best way to win Dani's affections."

"For all our sakes," Louise pleaded, "please attempt to behave like a well-behaved lady."

"But that little witch is being so difficult!" Mandy said madder than ever.

"Remember Mandy; gently," said Belle.

Mandy was irked and annoyed being reminded to speak gently. "Will you come down to dinner?" she asked irritated.

"No," Dani said sternly.

Mandy growled lowly, but Louise calmed her down and said, "Use a nicer tone, be courteous, and don't forget to say 'please'." Then Mandy said while bowing, "It would give me the greatest and utmost pleasure if you would join me for dinner…please."

"No, thank you," Dani replied firmly.

Felix, Belle and Louise were shocked at Dani's rejection, and Mandy was really miffed.

"There's no way that you can stay in there forever!" Mandy shouted.

"Oh, yes, there is!" Dani retorted.

"Fine!" shouted Mandy. "Then go ahead and starve for all I care!" She then turned to Felix, Belle and Louise and said, "If Dani won't eat with me, then she doesn't eat at all!"

With that, she stormed off to the door that led to the North Wing and slammed it behind her.

"Well… _that_ didn't go well as hoped," Felix said stunned.

Out of the three servants who were upset by the outcome of what had just happened, it seemed that Belle was the most upset. She was close to crying as she said, "If Mandy and Dani don't get along at this rate, I'll never be a Persian cat again!" Then she fell on her knees and sobbed uncontrollably. Felix did all he could to calm her down and cheer her up. "Don't worry, Belle," he said. "Things will soon turn up."

Like I said before, Felix started falling in love with Belle's human form after the spell took place, but he also felt that he had neither the heart nor the guts to tell Belle of his true feelings for her. The same went for Belle in the similar manner. After a while, Louise spoke up. "Now, now, you two," she said. "Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. It may still be possible that Dani may change her mind. You two clean up the kitchen. I'll stand watch at the door and see if there's any change." She soon turned to Felix and said, "Felix, if there is the slightest change, I'll let you know."

"Okay, Louise," said Felix. "If you say so." He turned to Belle and coaxed to her, "Come on, Belle." As Felix and Belle departed to clean up the kitchen, Louise stood guard at Dani's door and waited to see if Dani would change her mind.

Meanwhile, in her room located in the North Wing, Mandy was extremely peeved over Dani's stubbornness. "I ask nicely, but she refuses!" she griped. "What does she want me to do? Beg!?" Then Mandy looked down on the table where the magic mirror lay beside a glass dome which contained the enchanted rose, picked up the mirror and said, "Show me the girl."

The mirror hummed and flashed to life. In less than a minute, the mirror showed Dani in her room with Guru trying to talk some sense into her. "The mistress really isn't all that bad once you get to know her," Guru said. "Why don't you give her a chance?"

"Why should I?" Dani asked irritated. "Did she give my brother a chance?"

"Well, no," Guru admitted. "But…"

"But nothing!" Dani yelled. "I don't want to get to know her. I don't want to have anything to do with her!" As instantly as it had flashed to life, the mirror faded to black. After Mandy heard what Dani said, she felt dismayed. "I'm just fooling myself," Mandy said. "She'll never see me as anything…but a monster."

As Mandy set the mirror back on the table, a petal fell from the rose that Kay-Kay had given to Mandy years ago, and slowly dropped onto the table within the dome with the other fallen petals. "It's hopeless," Mandy said. "Whatever made me think that I had any hope of getting my humanity back?"

**Chapter 9**

Meanwhile, outside Dani's room, Louise was still standing watch; or rather, sleeping watch. See, after she had been standing guard for about 2 hours, she began to feel sleepy and she soon fell asleep. Just then, an eagle by the name of Timothy Beaux flew up to check on her. He was a prince who also lived in Mandy's castle with his siblings, James and Isabella. Louise and Timothy had known each other since they were preteens. When the curse had been placed on Mandy and the entire castle, they still cared for one another despite their new appearances.

After a moment of reminiscing, Timothy saw that Louise was fast asleep in front of Dani's door. _Looks like Louise is asleep,_ he thought slyly. _I think I'll surprise her with my presence. I'm such a sly eagle._

Timothy then quietly snuck up behind Louise and put his wings over her eyes as he said, "Guess who?"

Louise soon heard Timothy's voice and woke up with a start. She then saw that her eyes were covered by Timothy's wings and she used her wing to feel around for one of his wings. Once she did, she lifted his wing from one of her eyes which soon met with Timothy's.

"Timothy, you sly eagle," said Louise.

"Come on, Louise," said Timothy. "You know that I've always been this playful since we were younger."

Deep down, Louise knew that Timothy was right. After she saw that her boyfriend was acting like a child again, she decided to play along and coyly said, "Last one to the beam and back is a rotten egg!"

"Oh, you're on!" said Timothy.

With that, the two birds engaged in a little race.

Meanwhile, in her room, Dani was starting to have second thoughts and feel hunger pains. "Actually, Guru," she said at last, "I am a little hungry."

"I know that the mistress said that if you won't eat with her, then you don't eat at all; but I'm not going to sit idly by and watch you starve," said Guru.

"You're nice, Guru," Dani said. "But I don't want you to get in trouble with your mistress because of me."

"What's more important to you?" Guru asked. "Getting something succulent into your stomach or worrying about whether or not we'll get in trouble?"

Dani pondered the question for a moment. Then after a while, she said, "All right, Guru. You win. Let's go."

Then Dani and Guru left the room as quietly as they could, hoping they wouldn't be spotted. Just at that moment, Louise and Timothy were finishing their race; and Louise was the winner. "Oh, yes!" she cheered. "I knew you were competitive as a human, Louise," said Timothy. "Now it looks like you've proved that you're just as competitive as a bird. But you still play fair in both forms. Congrats."

"Thanks, Timothy," said Louise.

As Louise was thanking Timothy, she noticed Dani and Guru heading downstairs to the kitchen. "Holy cats!" Louise said surprised. "Dani's emerged! And Guru's with her! I better follow them before the mistress finds out!"

"I'll go with you," Timothy said.

Quick as a blink, Louise and Timothy flew off and followed them.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Felix and Belle were discussing about Dani. "I like Dani," Felix said. "That dynamite gal has a lot of spark."

"Dani may have a lot of spark, Felix;" Belle said, "but, if you'll pardon the expression, she's as stubborn as a mule! After all, Mandy did say 'please'."

Remembering that Mandy had indeed said "please" (under Louise's influence), an idea came to Felix. "You know, Belle," he said, "I do believe that it was the first time I had heard her use that word in a long while."

"I think you're right, Felix," said Belle. "But either way, if she doesn't learn to keep her temper under control, she'll…she'll never be able to…to…"

Poor Belle couldn't bring herself to finish the horrible conclusion to her sentence. Her eyes began to water and she knelt on the ground and cried. Felix knew what Belle was trying to say and what would happen if Mandy didn't control her temper. He knelt on the ground beside her and comforted her the best he could. "Don't worry, Belle," he said. "Everything will be okay. I promise."

Just then, Felix and Belle were scared out of their wits when they heard the sound of footsteps and saw two figures entering. But after a while, they were soon relieved when it turned out that the two figures were only Dani and Guru. "Jiminy Crickets, Guru. You scared us half to death!" said Felix.

"Sorry, Felix," said Guru. "I was just bringing Dani down here is all."

As pleased as Felix was to see Dani out of her room, he was startled once more when he heard the sound of flapping wings enter the room. However, he was once again relieved when he realized it was only Louise and Timothy. "Glad to see that you're out and about, Dani," said Louise. She pointed to Timothy and continued, "This is Timothy. He's a very close friend of mine."

Timothy bowed gracefully and said, "Pleasure to meet you, Dani."

"Anyway, what brings you two down here?" Louise asked.

"Dani was starting to feel a little hungry," said Guru. "I just thought that I'd bring her down here so she can get something to eat."

"Well, if that's the case," Felix said, "let's get dinner started up again."

When Belle heard this, she was shocked. She knew that if Mandy found out that her friends went against their mistress's orders, all heck would break loose. Fearing the worst, she knelt to Felix's level and said, "But Felix, you heard what the mistress said. I fear that if we go against her orders, we'll never, ever be forgiven!"

"It's okay, Belle," Louise said, flying onto Felix's back. "The least we can do is help her fill her stomach."

"Louise is right," said Felix. "Besides, you helped out Nate, right? And Dani's no prisoner. She's a guest. Please help me make her feel welcome like I helped you make Nate feel welcome."

Belle knew that Felix had the same kind-hearted nature as she did. After remembering that she and Felix had helped Nate feel welcome at the castle, she finally decided to go along with it, by helping him help Dani feel the same.

"All right, Felix," she said at last. "I'll help."

Then Felix, Belle, Guru, Louise and Timothy led Dani to the dining hall, upon which dinner was served. Everyone (including Karissa, James, Isabella, Nicole and Victor) had served Dani so many dishes: Beef ragout, Cheese soufflé, blueberry pie and vanilla pudding (some of the pudding was flambéed). As the enchanted animals served her, they also sang and danced to keep her entertained while she dined. Later, when it was all done, Dani was as stuffed as a turkey. "Thanks for dinner, Felix," she said. "It was wonderful."

"Glad you enjoyed it, Dani," Felix said.

That was when Louise began to yawn. "Oh, goodness!" Louise exclaimed. "How late it is! _**Off to bed with you.**_"

But it seemed that Dani was too excited to be tired. "I can't possibly go to bed, now," Dani said. "It's my first time in a castle that's enchanted." After Timothy heard Dani call the castle "enchanted", he tried to dismiss it as a joke. "'Enchanted'," he said laughing nervously. "What a joke! Whoever said that the castle was 'enchanted'? "

Before Timothy could point a wing at anyone who he thought had told Dani that the castle was indeed enchanted, Dani calmly told him, "I figured it out on my own. If it's all right, I'd like to have a look around. I'd like to see more of this castle." Surprised that Dani wanted to see more of the castle, Belle immediately asked, "Why don't Felix, Louise and I give you a little tour?" When Felix heard Belle offer to have them along with Louise to give Dani a tour, he felt that she was jumping the gun (so to speak) and quickly pulled her aside. "Whoa, there, Belle," he said. "It's a good idea, but it seems that you're jumping the gun a little. After all, we can't have her poking around you-know-where. If you know what I mean." Belle knew exactly what Felix meant; but it seemed that she didn't want Dani to be disappointed. "You just aren't going to be deterred from your thoughtfulness, are you?" Felix asked. "Nope," Belle said. "We've been in this castle for so long, that we pretty much know everything there is to know." Felix knew that Belle was right and that it was a fact which could not be denied. After a while, he finally agreed and Felix, Belle, and Louise started the tour with Dani in tow.

As the tour went on, Felix was saying, "As you can see, the pseudo façade became stripped over time to reveal a minimalist rococo design. This soon became a classic example of the late neoclassic Baroque period. And as I always say," he said jokingly, "if it's not 'Baroque', don't fix it!" He laughed himself silly until Louise calmed him down. "Easy, Felix," she said. "Even though it's a funny joke, we should stay focused and get on with the tour."

"Right," Felix said. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."

It was then that Dani saw a staircase that peaked her curiosity. She started her way up, but as she did, Louise, Belle and Felix ran as fast as they could to block her path thus stopping her. "What's up there?" Dani asked. "Nothing!" Felix said. "Nothing up there in the North Wing. Just plain boring and very dusty." That was when Dani figured it out.

"So _that's _the North Wing," she said interested.

"Nice going, Blabber-Puss," Belle said to Felix, miffed that he blabbed the secret of the North Wing.

"I wonder what she's hiding up there?" Dani asked.

"'Hiding'?" Louise asked. "What a notion! The mistress is hiding nothing. Nothing whatsoever."

"Then it wouldn't be forbidden, would it?" Dani said as she climbed further up the stairs.

"Maybe you'd like to see something else?" Felix asked. "We have tapestries dating as far back as the 19th century."

"We also have amazingly beautiful gardens," Belle added.

"Heck, we even have a library," said Louise.

Hearing the word "library" made Dani stop in her tracks. She turned to the trio and asked, " You have a library?" Feeling that they got her attention, Felix said, "Yes, indeed-y. Scads, mountains…"

"Cascades, forests…" added Belle.

"Rivers, even swamps of books," Louise said.

"On the whole," Felix said, "more books than you'll be able to read in a lifetime. Books on every subject ever studied and by every known author who ever first set ink onto paper."

Dani pretended to follow them back down, but her curiosity about the North Wing got the best of her. She turned around and headed back up the stairs leading to the west wing. Once Dani reached the North Wing, she saw that the entire hall of it was as dark as the belly of a whale. She passed by a mirror on the wall that was slightly cracked with a few shards missing. After a while, Dani finally saw huge double doors that led to Mandy's room. She started to reach for the handle, but hesitated. _On the one hand, _she thought, _I could get caught by Mandy for sneaking into her room and suffer the consequences. On the other hand, if I were to take just a teeny, tiny peek, then I could do whatever I need to do to get out of there before Mandy returns. _Finally, without further hesitation, Dani took hold of the door handle and fearlessly opened the door.

When she saw what was inside, she couldn't believe her eyes. Everything looked as if the room had been attacked by some ferocious wild animal. The curtains and even the bed were in shreds. The one thing that gave it away was the claw marks made within the fabrics. Then Dani came upon a shredded picture of a young girl with green eyes. _These eyes on this girl in the portrait look just like Mandy's, _she thought. _But the question is, why do they? Did someone else live here before and she scared them away? Or did something even more serious occur?_

As Dani pondered the possibilities about what possibly had happened to the girl in the portrait, a bright glowing light shone in her direction. She turned to find the source of the light and saw in a glass dome, was Mandy's rose. When Dani got closer to the dome with the rose within it, her eyes brightened. _What a beautiful rose, _she thought. _It really can't hurt to touch just one little petal. As long as I'll be gentle, there's no way that Mandy will ever know. _But just as Dani had lifted the glass dome, gently set it down on the floor, and started to touch one of the rose's petals, a shadow loomed over her. Once Dani saw the shadow, she gasped in horror. Mandy had been somewhere else in the room and when she noticed Dani and saw what she was about to do, she immediately leapt to where Dani was, put the glass dome back over the rose, and glanced at her angrily.

"What are you doing in here?" Mandy asked growling.

"I-I'm sorry," Dani said frightened. "I didn't mean any harm!"

"I warned you to never come here!" Mandy shouted angrily. "Get out! OUT!"

Terrified out of her wits, Dani turned and ran out the door. In not too long, she reached the front door of the castle. _Promise or no promise, _Dani thought, _I can't stay here for another moment!_ And without wasting another minute, Dani opened the door and ran from the castle post-haste. Back in her room, Mandy started to calm down. When she realized what she had done, she soon felt guilt and heartbreak. "Oh, God!" she said despondently. "What have I done?"

Having heard the commotion, Kay-Kay rushed into the room and saw Mandy on the floor crying her heart out. "Mandy!" Kay-Kay exclaimed worriedly. "What happened?" After recognizing her best friend's voice and realizing that she was worried about her, Mandy explained everything with tears flowing from her eyes. "I saw Dani come in here," she said crying. "I got so furious that I told her to get out, and then… Oh, I was just blind with rage!"

Too heartbroken from the outcome of the situation, Mandy sobbed uncontrollably. Kay-Kay kneeled beside her and hugged her tight as she tried to calm her down the best she could. "There, there, my friend," she said soothingly. "It's going to be all right."

"No, it isn't," Mandy said, still crying. "She's probably outside the castle by now."

When Kay-Kay heard this, she suddenly had a look of terror on her face. "That's bad," she said grimly. "Those grey wolves out there could rip her to shreds!" Realizing that she had completely forgotten about the grey wolves that dwelled outside the castle, Mandy panicked. "I can't believe I forgot about them!" Mandy said with a tone of terror. "I got to help her!"

"You go and get a head start," said Kay-Kay. "I'll find Victor and Isabella and we'll catch up with you."

Knowing what Kay-Kay had in mind and heeding her instructions, Mandy ran out the door of her room and headed outside, grabbing her cape as she left the castle.

After Mandy left, Kay-Kay started her search for Victor and Isabella. "Victor! Isabella!" Kay-Kay called out. "Where are you? Tis I, Kay-Kay! _**Come out, come out, wherever you are!**_" Within a few moments, Victor and Isabella heard Kay-Kay's call and they both rushed to the hall and found her. "Hey, Kay-Kay," said Victor. "What's up?"

"Victor," Kay-Kay announced, "we have a rescue mission to accomplish."

"Where's the mistress?" Isabella asked.

"She's already outside the castle walls," said Kay-Kay "You see, this gal named Dani came here to take her little brother's place as the mistress's prisoner and it seems that things went awry. Will you two help me find Dani and Mandy and bring them back?"

"You can count on us, Kay-Kay," Victor said.

"Excellent," Kay-Kay said gratefully.

And with that, she took from her pocket a packet of magic powder and sprinkled it over her head thus transforming herself into a brown wolf like Victor and Isabella. "Come on, you two," Kay-Kay said bravely. "Let's go help Mandy and rescue Dani." Without another moment to spare, Kay-Kay, Victor and Isabella were on their way.

**Chapter 10**

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Dani was still running for her life (since Mandy had frightened her away with her rage). However, when she got into the woods, it was so dark, she turned in the wrong direction and wound up deeper into the darkest part of the woods. _Drat!_ _Don't tell me that I've lost my way back to town! Goes to prove that one should never be in the woods after dark,_ she thought._ Oh, well. I should be safe from Mandy for now._

Just when she thought that she was safe, she heard an ominous howl that seemed too close to be off-distance. She turned and saw that she was surrounded by a pack of grey wolves. That's right. They were the same wolves that had frightened Nate and chased him to Mandy's castle. _If I had just followed Louise, Felix and Belle to the library that they spoke of, this could've been avoided,_ thought Dani. _But no. I just had to be curious about the North Wing. If only I had listened._

The wolves had Dani hopelessly surrounded and trapped like a rat when all the sudden, there came a terrible roar followed by three howls from different wolves. When the grey wolves turned around, they saw that the roar and howls came from Mandy, Victor, Isabella and Kay-Kay. They grey wolves at once diverted their attention from Dani and pounced on Dani's rescuers. The battle between different beasts was epic. When Kay-Kay saw that Mandy was in trouble, she pounced on the wolf that was about to attack her friend and the two wolves fought ferociously.

"I'll show you what happens when you try to hurt my best friend, you good-for-nothing beast!" Kay-Kay said angrily.

Suddenly, without warning, the wolf attacking Kay-Kay bit her in the right foreleg. Kay-Kay felt the pain coursing through her once she was bit and she let out a painful howl.

When Mandy heard Kay-Kay's howl of pain, she turned and saw to her horror that Kay-Kay was injured. "Kay-Kay!" she cried out.

Shocked that her best friend was hurt, she became extremely furious and pounced on the wolf who had hurt Kay-Kay. Mandy turned to Isabella and Victor and said, "Victor, Isabella, you two look after Kay-Kay and Dani. I'll show these wolves what happens when they hurt our friends."

As Victor and Isabella rushed to Kay-Kay and Dani's aid, Mandy fought the wolves with the best of her bravery. After a while, the wolves fled back to the deepest part of the woods. Unfortunately, during the fight, the grey wolf Mandy had been fighting with had left her injured in the right arm. When Mandy realized that she was bleeding, she fainted within a couple seconds. The first thing that Dani wanted to do was to try and find the path back to Genefieldburg and leave Mandy to freeze to death. But once she saw that she was hurt, she started sympathizing with her.

_She was willing to sacrifice herself for me, even though she was the one who scared me away in the first place, _Dani thought. _If she had the guts to help me, the least I can do is help her back to the castle and dress her wounds._ Without wasting a second, Dani walked over to where Mandy lay, put Mandy's uninjured left arm around her shoulder and helped her walk back to the castle. At the same time, Victor helped Kay-Kay onto Isabella's back so they could get her back to the castle as well and make sure that Hayley would dress Kay-Kay's wounds.

By the time everyone returned to the castle, Kay-Kay's wolf spell had worn off and she was once again a human enchantress. When Dani saw Kay-Kay's transformation from a wolf to a human, she was stunned. Kay-Kay soon opened her eyes and realized that she was safe and sound at the castle. Seeing Dani's stunned expression, she said, "Hello, Dani. I would like to welcome you to Mandy's castle."

"Thanks," said Dani. "How do you know my name?"

"For now, let's just say that a little bird or two told me," Kay-Kay said. "Permit me to introduce myself. I'm Kay-Kay, the eldest of the three enchantress sisters. The youngest is my baby sister, Hayley."

"If you say that you're the eldest of the three sisters, then where's the middle sister?" Dani asked.

"You mean Ashlie," said Kay-Kay. "Well, it was a cruel act of jealousy on her part that forced me to send her into exile. You see, she was jealous that Hayley and I could easily be fast friends with people who knew our powers were meant for good. Her irrational envy made her gain evil powers and she'd punish good folks for no reason at all. By sending Ashlie into exile, I secretly hoped deep in my heart that it would help her learn the powers of good and to expel all evil. I pray every day that she's finally learned her lesson by now."

Just then, the castle door opened. It was Hayley. She soon saw that her sister was hurt and she immediately took Kay-Kay from Isabella's back and helped her stand. Then Hayley walked Kay-Kay to the den and commenced dressing her wounds. While Hayley was cleaning Kay-Kay's wounds, Dani had just begun dampening a cloth in warm water and was wringing it out so she could clean Mandy's wounds. However, Mandy was trying to clean them on her own by licking (being a natural animal instinct).

"Mandy, don't do that," Dani said gently. "Just hold still."

Mandy tried to keep her wounded arm away from Dani for as long as she could. Up until Dani at last got the dampened towel on Mandy's arm. Needless to say, when the warm water touched Mandy's wound, it stung her so bad that she roared in pain. "ROAR! Ouch! That hurt!" Mandy yelled.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt so much if you would hold still," said Dani.

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't run away," said Mandy.

"I wouldn't have run away if you hadn't frightened me."

"Well, _you_ shouldn't have been in the North Wing!"

"And_ you_ should learn to keep your temper under control."

When Mandy realized that Dani also wanted her to control her temper, she began to ease off and let Dani clean her wounds her way. "Now, hold still, Mandy," Dani said. "This may sting a little." So saying, she put the dampened towel on Mandy's arm again. But instead of roaring painfully, Mandy just winced. As Dani cleaned more of Mandy's arm, she finally said, "By the way, thank you and many thanks to your friends for saving my life. If it weren't for you, I would've been that wolf pack's dinner."

When Mandy saw that Dani was grateful to her for saving her from the wolves, she soon began to have a change of heart.

"You're welcome," Mandy said at last.

After Dani cleaned Mandy's wounds and put a bandage on her arm, Mandy dozed off in her chair. Once Kay-Kay had the strength to walk again, she presented Dani with a gift…A cape of her very own.

"Here, Dani. It's my way of thanking you for saving my friend's life tonight," said Kay-Kay. "It _is _getting a little colder with the change in the seasons, so this cape ought to keep you warm."

"Thanks, Kay-Kay," Dani said gratefully.

**Chapter 11**

Meanwhile, back at the bar in Genefieldburg, Michael and Sean began setting their plan into motion. They had called in Madame Grizabelle D'Nuit and her assistant, Robert Gris; owners of the local mental health asylum in the village. "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Madame D'Nuit," said Michael. "My assistant and I don't usually leave the asylum in the middle of the night," Grizabelle said, her voice grim and husky. "However, your pal said you would make it worth our while." After Michael gave Grizabelle some cash, he began to tell her of his reason why he called them in. "It's like this," he said. "I got my heart set on marrying Dani. But she needs a little…persuasion."

"That's right," Sean said. "She turned him down flat!"

Annoyed by that reminding remark, Michael smacked Sean on the noggin. Afterwards, he went on with his explanation. "Everyone knows that her brother's a loony. Earlier tonight, he was in here raving about a beast in a castle." Grizabelle and Robert were stunned. "Nate's as harmless as a fly," said Grizabelle.

"That's true," Robert said. "Even if he _was _raving about a monstrous beast, I don't think it was meant to hurt anyone. Michael, I don't see how we can be of any use."

"You're missing the point," said Michael. "If you were to lock Nate up in your institute, Dani will have no choice but to commensurate to me for her brother's freedom."

"You want us to lock her brother up in the asylum unless she agrees to marry you?" Grizabelle asked. "This idea of yours is utterly despicable." After dwelling on the idea for a while, Grizabelle and Robert suddenly had evil smirks upon their faces. "We love it," Robert said. "Count us in." And with that, the horrible deal was struck.

Meanwhile, at Nate and Dani's house, Nate was talking with Maddie, a very close friend of his. He had been telling his story about the beast that dwelled within the castle walls outside the village. Instead of laughing at him and calling him crazy like the other villagers had, Maddie surprisingly believed him. Realizing that Maddie was the only one whom he could trust, Nate knew what had to be done. "If no one else will help me find my older sister, then I'll have to go back and find her myself," he said with determination. "I can't let you go alone," Maddie said, almost brokenhearted. "You still need to recover from your cold that you caught in your cell."

"I'll be just fine," Nate reassured her. "Just be strong and stay here until I return. I'll be back as soon as I can with my sister home and safe." That spoken, Nate was out the door and on his way back into the woods.

Not too far away, Michael saw Nate heading for the woods. He soon got close to the house and saw that Maddie was in there. "Guess we just missed Dani somehow, Michael," said Sean. "Looks like the plan won't work after all." Michael then turned to Sean and said, "Nate and Dani have to come back sometime. When they do, we'll be ready for them. I want you to stay here and don't move from that spot until Dani and her brother come home."

Sean wasn't cool with the idea, but he heeded the instructions anyway. As Michael left, Sean began to have second thoughts about ever liking and being near Michael in the first place.

**Chapter 12**

The next day, back at the castle, Dani decided to roam around the castle grounds to help her get used to the place. Robin and Louise were with her as well. Having the urge to be sneaky, Louise dug her wing into the snow and scooped it up. Then she flew over Dani and dumped the snow right on top of her. When Dani saw Louise laughing and realized that she was just having a little fun, she laughed, too. Mandy was on the balcony with Belle and Felix beside her watching over Dani, Louise and Robin having fun in the snow. Mandy soon started to feel a certain emotion that she never felt before. "I've never felt this way about anyone before," she said. "I want to do something for her. But what?"

Then Felix said, "Well, there's the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you have no intention on keeping."

"Felix!" Belle exclaimed. "For shame! For Dani, it's got to be something extremely special. Something that sparks her interests."

Just then, Belle remembered what Dani loved. She remembered that night when Dani went up to the North Wing and Belle had said the one word that made Dani stop in her tracks. Soon after, she whispered it into Mandy's ear. Mandy was stunned.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

"Trust me," Belle said. "It'll work."

Nonetheless, Mandy was unsure that Belle's idea would work. However, when Dani came back inside a few minutes later, Mandy finally worked up the courage to say, "Dani, there's something I want to show you. But first, close your eyes. It's a surprise." Dani was skeptic, but did as she was instructed and Mandy led her to a part of the castle she had never been before. After Mandy opened the doors, helped Dani enter the mysterious room and shed a little light, Dani asked, "Can I open my eyes now?"

"All right," Mandy said. "Now."

When Dani opened her eyes, she could hardly believe them. Mandy had brought her to the castle library. "I can't believe it," said Dani surprised. "I've never seen so many books in all my entire life!"

"You-you really like it?" Mandy asked astounded.

" Yes, Mandy. It's wonderful," Dani said.

And for the first time in nine years, Mandy smiled. "Then it's all yours," she said with sincerity.

Watching the heart-warming scene, neither Felix nor Louise could contain their joy and excitement. "Belle's idea really worked after all," Felix said with satisfaction. "We should give them some alone time," Louise suggested. "There's things to be done in the kitchen."

After Louise and Felix left to give Mandy and Dani some privacy, Felix asked, "Louise, do you think we'll ever be our normal selves again?"

"I hope so, Felix," Louise said. "And with extra hope, if it's to be, it'll be very soon now." _I know how deeply Felix and Belle care for one another,_ she thought to herself. _They may have been keeping their love for one another a secret from each other, except for me. However, when and if the spell breaks and Belle once more becomes a Persian cat, Belle and Felix's relationship will be as worthless as it had been before. Unless, of course, Belle wishes to stay as a human for the rest of her life. But I somehow doubt that'll happen. Then again, maybe it will._

Back in the library, Dani had found the book of her choice. The book she chose was one of her favorite stories. "'William Shakespeare's Hamlet," Dani said reading the title. "One of my favorites. Have you ever read it, Mandy?" Upon hearing the question, Mandy was startled and answered nervously, "No."

"You don't know what you're missing," said Dani. "I would love to read this again. Wait a second, _you _can read it first." Again, Mandy was shocked and nervously said, "No, Dani. It's okay, really. You read it."

"Come on, Mandy," Dani coaxed. "Give it a try."

"No!" Mandy exclaimed. "I-I can't."

After she heard Mandy say that she couldn't read, Dani was surprised. "You mean to say, you never learned to read?" Dani asked. "I did learn a little, years ago," Mandy admitted. "But soon after, I just gave up." After Dani heard Mandy's background story, Dani soon got an idea. "You know; it just so happens that this is the perfect book to read out loud," Dani said. "Come. Sit next to me." Mandy did as she was told and Dani began reading the story to her.

It wasn't long until Felix, Belle, Karissa, Timothy, James, Louise, Robin, Isabella, Victor, Nicole and Guru overheard Dani reading the story and decided to hear it, too.

A few hours later, Dani was reading the climax of the book. "'Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!' That's the end." After Mandy and everyone else heard the depressing conclusion of the story, they all were in tears.

"What a beautiful story," Mandy said trying to control her tears.

"I knew you'd like it, Mandy," said Dani.

"All right, everyone," Louise said. "Back to your chores. Let's go."

Everyone heeded Louise's orders and left. Felix, however, stayed behind with Louise. They were curious about the outcome of Mandy and Dani's blossoming relationship, so they decided to wait outside the library and see what would happen next.

"Mandy, I'd like to ask you for something," Dani said.

"Oh? And what's that?" asked Mandy.

"For a second chance," said Dani. "Mandy, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Once Mandy realized that Dani was proposing to have dinner with her, she was surprised. "Dinner?" she asked. "Me? With you? Why, that would be…I-I mean…" She didn't know how to answer Dani's proposal. After a while, she finally said, "Oh, heck yes!"

When Dani heard Mandy accept her invitation, she was pleased on the outside, but joyous on the inside. And as Louise and Felix overheard their mistress accept Dani's dinner proposal, they were so overjoyed that they couldn't contain their excitement.

"Come on, Felix," Louise said. "We must tell the others the good news!"

"I'm with you, Louise!" said Felix.

Then as quick as a wink, they rushed off to tell everyone in the castle staff the great news between Dani and Mandy. Once the news was spread, the whole castle was jubilant.

"Soon the spell will be broken at long last!" Robin exclaimed excitedly.

"We all better get things cleaned up for tonight!" said Nicole.

While everyone was tidying up the dining room and the ballroom, Mandy and Dani went outside to feed the birds. Mandy had a little trouble at first feeding them, but after a while, with Dani's help, she pretty much got the hang of it. When Dani saw Mandy getting the hang of feeding the birds, she began to feel that Mandy was starting to have a change of heart. _Who would've thought it? _Dani thought. _At first, Mandy was coarse, mean, and unrefined. And now, she's being nicer. There must be something there that I didn't see in her before._

Then, just for the sheer fun of it, Dani picked up some snow, packed it up into a snowball, and threw it at Mandy. When Mandy saw Dani laughing herself silly, she realized that it was only in good fun and remembered having snowball fights with Kay-Kay and Hayley when they were younger. So, as Mandy began making her own snowball, she said, "All right, Dani; if it's a snowball fight you want, it's a snowball fight you'll get!" And with that, she threw her snowball at Dani and they continued their snowball fight until almost sunset. When Louise and Robin saw Mandy and Dani were wiped out from the snowball fight, they flew outside and brought them back into the castle so they could get ready for their dinner date.

**Chapter 13**

The hour of the dinner date was drawing near and Belle and Felix were giving Mandy a bath so she would be clean and look her best for Dani. "Aren't you excited about finally having dinner with Dani tonight, Mandy?" Belle asked excitedly. "I feel more nervous than excited, Belle," Mandy admitted. "To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure if I can do this."

"Mandy," Felix said, "you don't have time to be timid. You got to try to be bold and daring."

"Bold and daring," Mandy repeated. Losing confidence, she said, "Oh, I can't."

"You do care for Dani, don't you?" asked Felix.

"More than anything," Mandy said.

"Well then, you should tell her that," said Felix.

Meanwhile, in Dani's room, Louise, Robin, Guru, Nicole and Karissa were helping Dani get ready for the dinner date and look good for Mandy. "Dani, I think it's awesome that you asked Mandy for a second chance," said Guru.

"Yes," Louise replied in agreement. "The way that your friendship has blossomed, Mandy really deserves it."

"Thanks, girls," said Dani. "I just hope all goes well."

"Don't worry, Dani," said Karissa. "It will. Believe me, it will."

"Just relax," said Nicole. "Everything will be just fine."

"You can take everyone's word for it, Dani," said Robin. "Including mine."

About half an hour later, Mandy was waiting downstairs for Dani wearing her best duds. While she was waiting, she began feeling a little anxious; but Belle and Felix were close by and able to keep her calm. "Mandy, relax," Felix said. "Everything's going to be just fine. Remember, when the moment is right, you confess your love."

"But, Felix, how will I know when the moment is right?" Mandy asked.

"You'll know, Mandy," Belle said. "Somehow, you'll just know."

Feeling reassured, Mandy managed to calm down and think positively. Just then, Dani came down the stairs followed by Guru, Louise, Robin, Nicole and Karissa, wearing a bright blue shirt with fancy fringes and dark blue pants. When Mandy saw her in her new outfit, she was bedazzled by the sight of it and couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Once Dani finally reached the bottom of the stairs, she and Mandy respectfully bowed down to one another and Mandy took Dani by the hand and led her to the dining room whereupon dinner was served. Once they got to the table, Mandy pulled out a chair for Dani and pushed her in after she sat down. After they got what they wanted to eat, things seemed to be going swimmingly. Then, to brighten up the mood a notch, Louise and Kay-Kay sang a romantic song in hopes that it would help Mandy gain the confidence and courage she needed to confess her love to Dani. Upon hearing the music, Dani got up, walked over to where Mandy sat, took her paws into her hands and coaxed her up as a way of asking her to dance with her.

When they got to the ballroom, Mandy was a little nervous about dancing with Dani (because she never danced with anyone before). But with Felix and Belle close by and coaxing her to keep calm and Dani helping her position her paws in the right places before they began to dance, she soon abandoned her nervousness and fears and before long, Mandy and Dani were dancing as though they were dancing on air. As Felix and Belle watched Dani and Mandy dance, they soon felt that love was in bloom without a single doubt. And if all went well, the spell would at last be broken. When Mandy and Dani's dance winded down, Dani leaned her head against Mandy's chest which not only surprised Mandy, but also helped her feel that one special emotion she hadn't felt in a long time: Joy. When Felix and Belle saw their mistress in a joyous state, their hopes of the spell finally being lifted were raised higher than ever. After the song ended, Mandy led Dani out the door from the ballroom onto the balcony so they would be in private. Knowing Mandy and Dani needed privacy, Louise, Kay-Kay, Felix and Belle left the room so they would be completely alone.

Out on the balcony, Mandy finally worked up the nerve to say to Dani, "Thanks for inviting me to dinner."

"Dinner was delicious," said Dani.

After a while, Mandy asked Dani, "Dani, are you happy here?"

"Why, of course I'm happy, Mandy," said Dani. "Everyone around here has been so kind to me."

Mandy was pleased with Dani's response, but when she saw the unhappy look on her face, she became concerned. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"It's my little brother, Nate. I just miss him dearly," Dani admitted. "I only wish that I could see him again; even for just a moment." As Mandy listened to Dani's plea, she soon felt guilty for being so harsh to Nate before Dani came and volunteered to take Nate's place as her prisoner. Then she beamed as she got an idea. "You know, there is a way for you to see him," she said. "Come with me." And she took Dani by the hand and led her back to the North Wing; where she had once been forbidden, now she was trusted well enough to be there for as long as she wanted. Mandy reached out for the magic mirror that was laid nearby the enchanted rose and picked it up to show Dani. "I got this mirror as a gift," said Mandy. "It will show you anything that you wish to see in the outside world." When Dani saw the magic mirror for the first time, she felt unsure and nervous, but after seeing Mandy's reassuring look, she took the mirror and said, "I'd like to see my little brother, please." With that, the magic mirror flashed a lime-green light that almost blinded Dani and showed Nate wandering in the forest looking for her. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground and coughed harshly. As Dani saw him fall, she was shocked. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "Nate's sick! He's all alone and he may be close to death!" After Mandy saw Dani's worried expression, she looked at the rose and saw that it was close to dying itself. Then she knew what she had to do, even if it meant sacrificing her one and only chance to return to her former human self. "Then you should go to him," said Mandy depressingly.

"What-what did you say?" Dani asked surprised.

"I hereby set you free," Mandy said. "There's no time to be lost. Go tend to your brother."

Dani was both delighted and grateful when she heard the news. "Thank you," she said gratefully. Then she turned to the mirror and said bravely, "Hold on, Nate. I'm on my way." Before she left the room, she tried to return the mirror to Mandy, but she insisted Dani that she keep it. "Take it with you, Dani," Mandy said. " Keep it so that you'll always have a way to look back and remember me."

"Mandy, I could never forget you," said Dani. "And thanks for understanding how much my brother needs me."

Then, with a heavy heart, Dani hurried to her room to change her clothes, gather her belongings and prepared to leave to find Nate and take him home to Genefieldburg. As Mandy watched her leave, she felt brokenhearted. _I may never see her again,_ she thought sadly. Just then, Felix, Belle, Hayley, Kay-Kay and Louise entered the room.

"Well, Mandy," Felix said, "looks like everything is going just swimmingly."

"We all knew you had it in you," said Belle.

Seeing Mandy's depressed expression, Louise was the first to know that something wasn't right. "Mandy?" Louise asked. "What's the matter?" Mandy knew when she had to admit the truth when it couldn't be held inside forever. Finally, she said, "I let her go."

"You did what!?" Louise, Felix, Belle, Hayley and Kay-Kay asked in unison.

"I just did what I had to do," said Mandy. "She had to help her brother."

"But Mandy, why?" Hayley asked.

"I just did it because I…" Mandy started to say. "Because…I…"

Mandy couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, but Kay-Kay knew what she was trying to say.

"You did it because you love her," Kay-Kay finished. "You really _do _love her, don't you?"

Mandy nodded depressingly.

"After all this time, all these years, Mandy's finally learned to love," Hayley said.

"That should break the spell then!" Belle said joyously. After a little while, she was confused. "Shouldn't it?"

"Unfortunately, no, Belle," said Hayley. "Dani has to love her in return."

"Now, it's too late," said Felix despondently.

While Felix, Belle and Hayley lost all hope, Kay-Kay was the only one who kept all the hope she had. Knowing otherwise, she took Louise aside and talked to her in private. "Louise, I have a nagging feeling that Dani does love Mandy," Kay-Kay said.

"But Kay-Kay," Louise said. "You heard what Hayley…"

"I know, Louise," Kay-Kay interrupted. "Deep down, I can tell that she does love her. Even though she hasn't admitted it. In fact, she probably hasn't left the castle yet. Follow Dani back to Genefieldburg and see if she still cares for Mandy deeply enough to come back and prove it."

Louise felt unsure following her newest friend like a spy, but she knew when good enchantresses like Kay-Kay or Hayley give her a simple set of instructions, she had to do what they told her. She reluctantly agreed and waited until Dani left then soon pursued after her.

**Chapter 14**

As Mandy watched Dani leave the castle from the balcony outside her room, she roared out a heartbroken roar that shattered the silence of the night. Dani felt bad leaving Mandy, but she knew that her brother needed her help more and that she needed to get him home as soon as possible so she could nurse him back to health before it was too late. It didn't take Dani long to find Nate in the spot where the magic mirror had shown her. As she got closer, she saw that he was out cold. _Oh, Nate,_ she thought. _Hold on, bro, I'll get you home._ Without any time to lose, she put his arm over her shoulder and she took him back to Genefieldburg posthaste.

When Maddie saw Dani coming up the road with Nate, she took immediate action and took Nate's other arm, put it over her shoulder, and helped Dani bring Nate back into the house. Sean had almost frozen to death when Dani and Nate returned home. Once he saw that they had come back, he wasted no time in rushing off to town and relate the news to Michael.

Back in the house, Nate was slowly coming to. "Oh. Where am I?" he asked groggily. "The last thing I remember, I fell onto the ground. Then, I don't know what happened."

"Dani brought you home, Nate," Maddie said soothingly.

"Dani?" Nate asked. "But she was…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Dani entered the room.

"Don't worry, Nate," she said calmly. "I'm home."

When Nate saw that it was true, he was overwhelmed with joy. As the siblings hugged, he said, "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Oh, Nate," Dani said feeling mutual, "I missed you so much."

Then Nate suddenly remembered the reason why Dani had been gone for so long. "But, the she-beast? How did you escape?" Nate asked.

"I didn't escape, Nate," said Dani. "She let me go."

When Nate heard this, he was shocked and angry.

"She let you go?" he asked. "That horrible creature?"

"But she's not horrible, Nate," Dani said. "Besides, she's different now and has somehow changed."

Suddenly, there came a familiar swan sound from outside. "Honk!" Unfamiliar with the sound, Maddie freaked out. "What the devil was that?" she asked trembling with fear. _There's one animal I know of that makes that sound,_ Dani thought. Then she said, "Someone must've been tailing me from the castle." Without further hesitation, Dani went to the foyer with Maddie and Nate in tow, opened the door and in flew a familiar swan she had come to know. "Louise!"

"Hey, Dani," said Louise.

"A talking swan?" Maddie asked in disbelief. "Unbelievable!"

"I know how you feel," said Dani. "I felt the same way when _I _first met her."

Once Louise was inside, Dani closed the door and Louise landed in Dani's hands to give her wings a rest. "Dani, why did you leave the castle?" Louise asked. "You don't despise us, do you?"

"Of course not, Louise," said Dani. "It's just that my brother needed help. If I hadn't found him when I did, he would've been dead by now and I'd never forgive myself."

Just then there came a knock at the door. "I'll get it," said Maddie. When Maddie answered the door, she was surprised when she saw... "Madame Grizabelle D'Nuit!"

_The woman who runs the mental health asylum?_ Dani thought. She looked to Louise and said, "Look after Nate." Knowing that Dani wanted Nate safe, Louise complied. Then Dani joined Maddie at the door and asked Grizabelle boldly, "What do you want?"

"Ah, Dani. My partner and I have come to collect your brother," said Grizabelle grimly.

"Don't worry, little ladies," said Robert as he approached the front stoop addressing Maddie and Dani. "We'll take _very _good care of him."

Dani and Maddie didn't like where what Grizabelle and Robert had said was going, not one little bit. They moved a little closer out the door which made Grizabelle and Robert back off the stoop as Dani defensively said, "My brother's not crazy!"

Once Dani and Maddie stepped outside, they saw that Sean and Michael had gathered the villagers to form an angry mob and had led them to the house.

"He was raving like a deranged lunatic!" shouted Sean angrily. He then turned to the mob saying, "We all heard him, didn't we?"

"Yeah!" the villagers said angrily.

When Nate heard the commotion outside, he stepped out to see what was the matter.

"Girls?" he asked.

Sean then noticed that Nate had come out of the house and he said in a pleasant tone, "Nate! Tell us again, my friend. Just how big _was _this female beast?" Then he snickered under his breath.

Nate had no other choice but to tell his story once more. After a second, he said, "It was…I mean…She was enormous! I would say at least 10 or 12 feet tall!"

Sean and the villagers laughed derisively at him. They all thought that Nate was truly and completely crazy.

"Well, it goes to show that you don't get much crazier than that!" said Sean.

"It's true, I tell you!" said Nate.

Before Nate, Dani and Maddie knew it, Robert and Grizabelle grabbed Nate by the arms and they led him to Grizabelle's car.

"Let go of me, you creeps!" Nate shouted.

Needless to say, Maddie and Dani were shocked as they saw Robert and Grizabelle drag Nate to the car of the mental health proprietor. Wanting to stop them from taking her brother away, Dani ran after them and said, "No! You can't do this!" Unfortunately, Grizabelle and Robert ignored her.

Shortly afterwards, Michael appeared from the crowd. "Poor Dani," he said with mock sympathy. "Such a shame about your brother."

"Michael, you know that he's not crazy," Dani said. "Tell them it's a mistake!"

Then Michael slyly said, "I can probably clear up this misunderstanding if…you agree to marry me."

"What?" asked Dani angrily.

"Only one little word, Dani. That's all it takes," said Michael. "All you have to do is just say yes."

Dani couldn't believe that Michael would stoop so low just to persuade her (or in this case, _force _her) to marry him. She was so livid that she finally shouted, "NEVER!" In addition to her anger, she slapped him in the face as hard as she could. "I'll never marry you!" she continued. "My brother's not crazy and I have proof!" Dani quickly ran back into the house and found the magic mirror Mandy had given her. With the magic mirror in her hand and without wasting time heading back outside, she said to the mirror, "Show me the She-Beast!" With a blinding flash, the mirror showed Mandy roaring mournfully, proving to the villagers that Nate was telling the truth all along. As they saw Mandy the She-Beast in the mirror, a woman in the crowd screamed in terror. "AHHH!"

"That's her!" Nate exclaimed as he recognized Mandy. However, when Michael saw her, he just stared in disbelief. "Is it dangerous?" asked another woman.

"No," said Dani. "She'd never hurt anyone. Listen to me. I know that she looks vicious and frightful, but in all honsesty, she's kind, gentle and caring. She's my friend."

Michael couldn't believe what he was hearing. The girl he wanted to make his wife sounded as if she really cared for a hideous female beast! "If I didn't know better," he said suspiciously, "I'd think that you actually had feelings for this witch of a monster."

"She's not a witch of a monster, Michael," Dani said sternly. "If anyone is a monster, it's you!"

When Michael heard Dani call him a monster, he was insanely furious. He turned to the villagers and said, "She's as crazy as her brother! She claims this creature is her friend? Well, I've come across and hunted wild beasts like that and I've seen what they can do!"

Sean was shocked and miffed when he heard Michael claim the credit for coming across and hunting wild beasts as his own. Sean thought to himself, He's_ come across wild beasts? _I'm _the one who has come across wild beasts!_ _If I'd known that Michael was such a jerk by taking someone else's credit as his own, I never would've agreed to be his friend and right-hand man! I should never have been so sassy toward Dani and Nate. It's time that I was on Dani's side._

As Sean stepped away from the crowd, Michael said, "The She-Beast will take your children! She'll sneak up on them in the dead of night!" The villagers were scared by Michael's lies. Dani tried her best to convince them otherwise as she said, "No! That's not true! She would never!" Alas, it was to no avail.

"Forget the young man!" Michael continued. "We're not safe until her head is mounted on my wall! I say…we kill the She-Beast!"

The villagers agreed defensively and angrily, but Dani was shocked. How could they fall for such lies that Michael had spewed about Mandy? He didn't know her, yet he convinced the villagers that she was harmful in every retrospect. Dani grabbed Michael's arm and said, "No! Michael, I won't let you do this!" But try as she might, Michael wouldn't hear of it. "Just try and stop us!" Michael said turned to the villagers and said, "We'll rid the village of this She-Beast! Now who's with me?"

"I am!" replied all the villagers. Then he and the villagers including Grisabelle and Robert left for the castle with a plan to kill the She-Beast; everyone except for Sean. After he realized that Michael was a selfish jerk and never the right person to hang out with, he hid inside the house so that he wouldn't get mixed up in the crowd when they left.

After the villagers and Michael left, Dani was completely and utterly distraught. "Nate, this is all my fault," she said. "I have to go back to the castle and warn her. Because of me, Mandy's in grave danger."

"Maddie and I will go with you," said Nate.

"No way!" said Dani. "You need to stay and rest."

"I lost you once and I don't intend on losing you again," said Nate firmly. "Even though you're my older sister, you're all the family I have left."

At that moment, Sean came out from the house and said, "I'll lead the way."

"Sean?" Dani, Nate and Maddie asked in unison as they turned and saw him appear.

"I thought that you'd be with Michael," said Dani.

"Not anymore," Sean said. "Not when he takes my credit for coming across wild animals and claims it as his own. I now realize I was wrong to be mixed up with the wrong crowd."

"We'll have to trust him, Dani," said Louise as she came out of the house after Sean. "He's our only hope of ever getting back to the castle and to warn Mandy in time. God knows what may happen if we fail."

"You're right, Louise," Dani said at last. "I don't think I can live the rest of my life without her. We better hurry." Then turning to Sean, she said, "Okay, Sean. Lead the way."

"Your wish is my command, Dani," said Sean. And with that, Dani, Maddie, Nate, Sean and Louise were on their way to Mandy's castle as fast as they could.

**Chapter 15**

Meanwhile, deep in the woods, Michael, the villagers, Grisabelle and Robert (whom were in their car) were well ahead of Dani, Nate, Sean, Maddie and Louise. As they had gone deeper into the woods, Michael then gave an order. "Men! Cut down a tree big enough to break down the castle door! Take whatever treasure you can find. But remember, the She-Beast is mine!" Once the tree was cut down to make a makeshift battering ram, Michael and the townspeople continued further to the castle chanting, "Kill the She-Beast! Kill the She-Beast! Kill the She-Beast!"

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Felix, Belle, Robin and Guru were in dismay. "We never should've gotten our hopes up that Mandy and Dani would fall in love right then and there," Belle said somberly.

"Maybe it would've been better if Dani had never come at all," Felix said clearly upset.

"But Felix, if she hadn't come, Mandy wouldn't have had new hope of lifting this spell," said Robin.

"When you're right, you're right, Robin," said Felix. "It'll have to take a miracle for the spell to be lifted. Mandy's still upset over letting Dani go."

Then Guru heard some commotion going on outside the castle and rushed to the window to investigate. When she saw what caused the ruckus, she immediately barked as loudly as she could, sounding off the alert. Hearing Guru's barks, Felix was the first to respond to the alarm. Belle and Robin followed. "What's up, Guru?" Felix asked. "Did Dani come back?"

"I'm afraid not, Felix," said Guru. "We got company, but not the kind that you'd expect."

When Felix, Robin and Belle looked out the window, they saw to their horror that Guru was right. "Jiminy H. Cricket!" Felix shouted. "Invaders!"

"This is bad!" exclaimed Robin.

"What do we do?" Belle asked.

Once Felix saw Belle's frightened expression, he quickly rushed to her and said, "Belle, go to the North Wing and warn the mistress of the danger as fast as you can." Although Belle knew that Mandy was still depressed over letting Dani go, she agreed and left for the North Wing posthaste.

After Belle left, Felix turned to Guru and Robin and said, "You two, follow me! We'll get Kay-Kay and the others to help. If it's a fight they want, then we'll ready for them! Who's with me?"

"Count me in, Felix!" said Robin.

"Me, too!" replied Guru. "We'll make these people sorry that they ever messed with us!"

And as quick as a wink, the trio quickly gathered Nicole, Victor, Isabella, Karissa, James, Timothy, Hayley and Kay-Kay and they all began prepping themselves for war.

Meanwhile, outside the castle, Michael and the villagers began ramming the castle door down while shouting, "Heave! Ho! Heave! Ho! Heave! Ho!" They rammed the door over and over until the door was near weakening.

Back inside the castle, Belle finally arrived at Mandy's room in the North Wing. Seeing Mandy in a slumped position, she asked, "Pardon me, mistress?"

"Leave me alone in peace," Mandy said gloomily.

"But Mandy, the castle is under attack!" said Belle with desperate urgency in her voice. " There's a mob out there breaking down the doors! What shall we do?"

"It no longer matters to me now," Mandy depressingly said. "Just let them come."

Knowing that there was no other way of persuading Mandy because of her depression, Belle left the room.

Back outside the castle, Michael and the villagers almost had the door broken down. They soon gave out one final "Heave! Ho!" And with that, the door was broken open, making the castle open for Michael and the villagers to enter. As they stepped inside, the villagers soon sensed that there was a kind of creepy vibe to the castle (which is understandable for those who had never been in a castle ruled by a female beast before).

"This place gives me the creeps!" said one man.

"Maybe we should've listened to Dani when she said that this She-Beast is indeed harmless," said the second man.

"I think we should turn around and go home before things get any worse," said the third man.

As if the third man had jinxed himself and the rest of the mob, Felix gave out the command, "Charge!" Within an instant, Kay-Kay (in her wolf form), Hayley and all the other enchanted animals pounced on the villagers and gave them a taste of their own medicine. The only one they missed pouncing on was Michael. He had ducked out of the way just as the animals started to give the villagers a hard time. _What a bunch of wusses,_ Michael thought. _I came here to kill the She-Beast and by God, that's what I'm going to do!_ And with that, he was off to the North Wing to find Mandy and finish her off. As the battle went on, Kay-Kay noticed Michael going up to the North Wing and could tell that he was up to no good. _Whoever he is, he can't be up to any good,_ she thought. _If he thinks that he's going to kill my friend, he's sadly mistaken._ She quickly turned to Victor and said, "Victor, you and the others keep on fighting the villagers. I'll go after the rapscallion of a hunter. If the hunter is hunting Mandy, her life must be in danger and I must protect my friend at all costs."

"Leave them to us, Kay-Kay," said Victor. "Protect Mandy. Go!" Then without being seen by the villagers, Kay-Kay left in hot pursuit of Michael, wondering exactly what sort of sneaky scheme it was that he had up his sleeve.

Hayley and the other enchanted animals kept up the battle against the villagers as Kay-Kay had commanded. They did little harmless pranks to give them a little scare or even a jolt. When the villagers couldn't take anymore, they all made a hasty retreat to Genefieldburg like frightened rabbits. A few of the villagers (two of them being Grisabelle and Robert) got lost in the woods never to be seen again. As the enchanted animals saw the villagers retreating, they were jubilant over emerging victorious that a few of them danced around with joy.

"And if you know what's good for you, don't come back!" Belle yelled.

"They're out of earshot, Belle," said Felix. "They probably didn't hear you. But the castle's safe and that's all that matters."

Meanwhile, in the North Wing, Mandy was still moping over letting Dani go. She was so depressed that she didn't hear Michael enter the room. After Michael entered the room, Mandy turned and saw him. But being so down in the dumps, she didn't even flinch.

"So, _you're_ the She-Beast," Michael said in a mock terrified tone which soon turned serious. "Oh, I'm _so _scared. Why don't you get up and fight?"

Mandy didn't move a muscle. Michael soon took aim with a bow and arrow (which he found on the way up to the North Wing) to shoot her, hoping it would get her attention and make her mad. But before he could fire, Kay-Kay saw what he was about to do. Intensely irate, she defensively said, "You leave my friend alone, you worthless piece of scum!"

Just as Michael was about to turn around and see who called him a piece of scum, Kay-Kay pounced on him which sent a force so powerful, that he bumped into Mandy and all three of them crashed through the window and landed on the balcony. Mandy, still in deep melancholy from freeing Dani, slowly tried to get up. When Michael saw her trying to rise, he quickly got up first and pushed her over the side of the balcony, making her fall on the castle rooftop. Michael soon jumped over and landed on the roof. As soon as he landed, he demandingly and tautingly said, "Get up! What's the matter, She-Beast? Too 'kind, gentle and caring' to fight back?"

But just as before, Mandy was too depressed and distressed to bring herself to stand and fight. Enraged that the she- beast was refusing to fight him, Michael grabbed a nearby club and snuck up behind her, planning to strike her down with it. At that precise moment, a distant voice shouted "No!" It was Dani. Thanks to Sean, Dani, Nate, Louise, Maddie and Sean himself returned to the castle in the nick of time. Mandy heard Dani's voice and when she opened her eyes, she saw that Dani had truly come back. _Dani, _she thought. _I can't believe it! She's come back!_ While sliding down to the roof herself, Kay-Kay also saw that Dani had returned to the castle. _I _knew _that she cared deeply enough for Mandy as much as her brother to come back,_ Kay-Kay thought pleasantly.

"No!" Dani yelled terrified. "Michael, don't!"

Just as Michael was about to strike Mandy down with his club, Mandy suddenly found the strength to stand up and grab hold of it. With Kay-Kay by her side, Mandy then fought Michael beast to man. When Nate saw the worried look on his older sister's face, he knew that he had to let Dani help the creature that she had come to be friends with. "Go to Mandy, Dani," Nate said tenderly. "She needs you more than Ido now." Dani knew that Nate was right and she was also grateful that he understood that she cared for Mandy. "Be strong, Nate," said Dani as she lovingly kissed her little brother's forehead. And with no time to lose, she quickly ran into the castle and made her way to the North Wing as fast as she could.

Meanwhile, back on the rooftop, Mandy and Kay-Kay were giving Michael one heck of a time. No matter what new move Michael had planned to give them, they were always one step ahead of him. Michael soon grabbed his club again and he smashed the head of what he had thought was Mandy. But it was really one of the gargoyles that surrounded the perimeter of the castle rooftop. "Come on out and fight!" Michael yelled angrily. There was no reply. "Were you in love with Dani, She-Beast?" he asked jealously. "Did you honestly think that she would ever want you when she already had someone like me?"

Little did he know that Mandy and Kay-Kay were hidden behind one of the other gargoyles. As Michael walked past the gargoyle that Kay-Kay and Mandy were hiding behind, they slowly snuck up behind him. When Michael finally sensed the danger, he swung the club around to hit Mandy. But he missed her once again. Thanks to her quick reflexes, Mandy was able to dodge Michael's club which had caused Michael to miss hitting her with it. "It's over, She-Beast!" said Michael furiously. "DANI WILL BE MINE!"

_I don't think so, punk!_ Kay-Kay thought. Then she leapt toward Michael attempting to bite him in the leg. Unfortunately, Michael stepped to the side of the roof and he struck Kay-Kay in her side with his club, knocking her out cold. When Mandy saw that her friend was knocked out by Michael's club, she was frightened out of her wits. "Kay-Kay!" she exclaimed fearfully. Though Mandy was scared that Kay-Kay was unconscious, she became so furious that she grabbed Michael by the neck and held him over the edge of the roof planning to drop him into the ravine below. Michael panicked when he saw what Mandy had in mind and he pleaded, "No! Please! Don't hurt me! I'll do anything, you hear me? ANYTHING!"

When Mandy heard Michael's plea, she remembered the similar plea that Dani had made when she volunteered to be her prisoner to save Nate's life. She also realized that her love for Dani had made her too human to kill Michael out of anger. Then Mandy moved away from the edge of the roof and let Michael collapse on the platform of the roof as she said, "Get out." At that moment, Kay-Kay came to and she slowly tried to get back up on her feet. But the hard fall after being hit by Michael's club had sprained her left hind leg. As a result, she wasn't able to stand up. "Mandy…" Kay-Kay said weakly. "Help…" Then she fell unconscious again.

When Mandy noticed that Kay-Kay was unconscious for the second time, she rushed to where she lay and put Kay-Kay's forelegs around her neck so she could carry her back up to the North Wing balcony. _I'll make sure that Hayley tends to your wounds, old friend,_ Mandy thought. _Just hang in there!_ Just as Mandy had begun scaling the roof back to her balcony, she heard Dani's voice calling her name. "Mandy!" Upon hearing Dani's voice, Mandy found the will and the strength to continue climbing up to the North Wing balcony so she would finally see Dani once again. Unbeknownst to them, Michael had recovered and he slowly climbed up the roof behind Mandy with a dagger in his hand. As Mandy neared the top of the North Wing balcony, she reached her paw out for Dani's hand. And once Mandy's paw and Dani's hand touched, Mandy said at last, "Dani. You came back." Then Kay-Kay slowly opened her eyes. She soon caught a glimpse of Dani and weakly said, "I just _knew _that you wouldn't leave Mandy high and dry forever, Dani." Seeing that Mandy was okay was all that Dani needed to know and she was happy and relieved just to be with her once more. Just then, Mandy roared in pain. "ROAR!" Michael had used the dagger that he had had in his hand to stab Mandy in the back! Once Kay-Kay saw that her friend was brutally wounded, she used one of her forepaws to swat at Michael, but he dodged sideways to miss her swipe. Unfortunately for him, that was his undoing. At that instant, Michael realized that he was losing his balance and he tried to right himself, but he failed to realize that it was too late for him to do so. He completely lost his balance altogether and he plummeted down, down, down into the ravine below to his death, which thus ended his reign of terror.

Not long after Michael's demise, Dani quickly pulled Mandy (who was now rapidly growing weak) back up to the balcony. Hayley arrived in the nick of time to take Kay-Kay off Mandy's back and to examine Kay-Kay's sprained leg just as Kay-Kay's wolf spell wore off, while Dani laid Mandy down on her back on the floor of the balcony to ease the bleeding. At the same time, Felix, Belle, Robin and Louise entered the North Wing and rushed to the balcony. When they saw that their mistress was close to death, they feared the worst. In an instant, Mandy slowly opened her eyes and she soon saw that Dani was looking over her. With her voice growing weaker, she said, "You…you came back."

"Of course, Mandy," said Dani. "I couldn't let them just…Oh, this is all my fault! I wish that I had come sooner. If I had, then none of this would have happened."

"Maybe…it's better…better this way," said Mandy.

"Don't talk like that!" exclaimed Dani. "You'll be all right. We're together now. Everything will be just fine. You'll see."

Mandy then weakly raised up her paw to touch Dani's cheek and she said, "And… my one consolation is…at least…I got to see you…one last…time." After a second, Mandy closed her eyes…forever. Thinking that Mandy was gone for good, Dani was heartbroken and despondent. "No!" cried Dani. "No, please! Don't leave me, Mandy! I love you." Then Dani put her head onto Mandy's chest and wept. As for the enchanted rose, it finally lost its final petal. When Felix, Belle, Louise, Robin and Hayley saw that the rose lost its last petal, they all began to think that all hope was lost. With Mandy deceased, they thought that the spell was forever permanent; everyone's final chance to be their normal selves again was shattered. However, Kay-Kay knew otherwise. As she finally came to, she said, "It's not over."

"But Kay-Kay," said Hayley. "The rose…"

"I know that the rose has lost its last petal, Hayley," said Kay-Kay. "But remember, I revealed to Mandy that if she learned to love another and earned his or her love before the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. I heard Dani tell Mandy that she loved her before the final petal fell from the rose." Once Hayley finally put two and two together, she said, "Then that means…the spell is truly broken!" Right at that moment, Kay-Kay's wand began to glow and the magic shot out of her wand in the direction where Mandy lay lifeless. As Dani mourned the loss of her friend, the magic from Kay-Kay's wand struck Mandy beginning her transformation from a beast to a human. Dani stared in disbelief as the magical mist enveloped Mandy and rose her into the air. Soon, a rainbow formed above the magic mist. Then, all at once, Mandy was transformed back into a human, restored back to life, and the wound in her back was healed. Once Mandy was lowered back onto the ground, Dani slowly moved closer to her to see if she was okay. But then, Mandy stirred and Dani backed away. After a minute, Mandy groggily got up and she soon examined herself. Within an instant, she finally realized that she was human again. A second later, she turned around and faced Dani. When she saw her surprised yet confused expression, she said at last, "Dani. It's me. It's Mandy." At first, Dani was hesitant. But when she looked deeply into Mandy's eyes, she soon realized that her eyes were the same shade of green as the girl within the portrait in Mandy's room and when Mandy was a she-beast. Once Dani finally recognized Mandy, she said with an extreme amount of joy, " Mandy! It _is _you!" Mandy then held Dani in her arms and kissed her. At that exact moment, fireworks shot up into the sky and the whole castle was transformed back into the way it looked nine years before. Glad to see that their mistress was alive and human once more, Louise, Robin and Felix rushed toward Mandy with their hearts filled with glee. As they did so, Louise was the first of the servants and other residents of the castle to transform from a swan back into a human. Robin and Felix transformed back into humans an instant later. In the other parts of the castle, Guru, Karissa, Nicole, Victor, Isabella, James and Timothy all soon were restored to their true human forms. As for Belle, back on the balcony, she reverted into a Persian cat. Once she saw that Felix was back in his original state, she felt that he wouldn't still care for her the way he did while they were under the spell. _Whatever made me think that my love for him would last, let alone even hope that he would admit he had feelings for me? _Belle thought. _I may as well forget it all. _And with a heavy heart, she started to leave the North Wing. When Felix saw Belle leaving the room, he quickly stopped her in her tracks. "Hey, now," Felix said. "Where do you think _you're _off to in such a hurry?"

"Nowhere in particular," said Belle.

"Come on, Belle," said Felix. "Be honest."

"It's just that…" Belle struggled. "Since we're back to our normal forms, I…"

Belle couldn't bring herself to finish her explanation, but Felix knew what she was trying to say. It was then that he decided to tell Belle how he truly felt about her. "Belle," he said, "there's something that I need to tell you. While we were under the spell and when you were a human, I-I fell in love with you. I know that I should've told you before, but I was too nervous. I feared that you'd think that I was being silly." Belle just smiled and said, "Felix, what I find silly is that you'd have that ridiculous phobia. I must admit that I started to fall for you, too. Maybe my life would've been better if I had been born a human instead of a cat. I wish that I was a human again so I can spend the rest of my life with you." After Felix heard Belle say that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him as a human, the news made him feel happy as a lark, and he knelt on the ground and hugged Belle tightly as she purred. Kay-Kay and Hayley had overheard Belle's wish and Kay-Kay felt it necessary to grant it, for she had noticed Belle and Felix's love bloom from the very beginning just as Louise had.

"Kay-Kay, must we grant Belle's wish?" Hayley asked. "I thought that Belle would be happy to be back the way she was before."

"I've seen her love bloom for Felix long after the curse had been placed, little sister," said Kay-Kay. "After all, it is _her _choice and I won't have her wish denied. If she wants to be human and stay with Felix for the rest of her life, then so be it."

Then with a flick and a twist, the enchantresses aimed their wands' magic at Belle. And before Felix's astonished eyes, the magic from the wands transformed Belle back into a human. Overjoyed that Belle was human again, Felix picked her up, twirled her around, and Felix and Belle hugged. Soon, Kay-Kay and Hayley got an even bigger surprise. They saw that their once evil sister, Ashlie had returned. As Ashlie approached Kay-Kay, she knelt on the ground before her older sister and said, "Kay-Kay, I now know that I was wrong about Mandy. If I just got to know her better, I never would have done what I did. I would've understood her the way you and Hayley do. I'm sorry that I was so stupid and selfish. Can you ever forgive me?" Kay-Kay could tell that Ashlie truly had changed her ways and she was also secretly relieved that her hopes of that her younger sister would do so had become a reality. After a second, Kay-Kay helped Ashlie rise to her feet and she said, "As long as you have finally expelled your evil powers to learn the powers of good, of course I'll forgive you. Besides, what kind of older sister would I be to you if I didn't forgive you?"

Then Mandy and Dani walked over to where Kay-Kay and her sisters were. After a moment, Mandy said, "Kay-Kay, if it hadn't been for you and Hayley, I never would have lasted this long. Thank you for keeping your promise for the past nine years."

"That's what friends are for, Mandy," Kay-Kay said. "That's what friends are for."

"I'd say that this miracle calls for a celebration!" said Hayley.

Mandy, Dani, Kay-Kay, Felix, Belle, Ashlie and the rest of the castle servants couldn't agree more.

**Epilogue**

Many days later was Mandy and Dani's wedding. The wedding day was merry, bright, and fantabulous. Everyone there was joyous and jubilant. Mandy and Dani had just said their "I do's" and they finally shared their first married kiss. While everyone else was happy and applauding the happy couple, Kay-Kay was shedding tears of happiness.

"What's wrong, sis?" Hayley asked.

"Nothing," Kay-Kay said emotionally as she wiped a tear away from her eye. "Weddings get me emotional, that's all. As long as Dani will always be there to keep our friend happy, I'll still be there to support her no matter what happens."

"So will I," said Hayley.

"We _all_ will," said Ashlie.

As Mandy and Dani danced their wedding dance, Kay-Kay and Louise sang the same romantic song that they had sung when Dani first taught Mandy to dance on their first date. And as all happy endings in these stories go, everyone lived happily ever after.

**The End**

Dedicated in loving memory of my grandfather Gene Sellers

September 11, 1935- June 13, 2017

And of my great-grandmother Evelyn Noss

August 18, 1918-January 30, 2015


End file.
